


Red in Tooth and Claw

by spirithorse



Category: Code Geass
Genre: 100 Themes Challenge, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-04-15 11:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 38,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4604262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse/pseuds/spirithorse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Britannia had decided to use genetically modified dinosaurs in the place of Knightmares as their weapon of choice? A Code Geass/Jurassic World Fusion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mind

**Author's Note:**

> So raptors and Jurassic World are still on my brain, hence this. I think Britannia would have totally weaponized raptors and Indominus Rex without question, even with the failure. So you have raptors with the favorite anime trope of a mental link, because why not. Finally, I like my raptors with feathers and bright colors, so these ones all have feathers. The prompts that I used are from [this 100 prompt list](http://a-momentary-equilibrium-issue.tumblr.com/post/36447860096/100-theme-challenge) plus one extra short that I did back when I first had this idea. Title from In Memoriam A.H.H. by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Marianne sunk into her chair, groaning as she lifted her feet. It felt like all her muscles had lead weights attached to them, but that was nothing compared to the numbness in her feet. She reached back to rub at her neck, hissing at the ache. Not even steady pressure would make it disappear.

She dropped her hand back down, letting it dangle over the arm of the chair. What she really needed was a long, hot bath. Soaking would work out most of the kinks and the rest could be taken care of with pain killers. Marianne was sure that everything would go back to the same burning ache come morning, but she couldn’t stop now, not when they were so close.

Marianne listed to the side in her chair, staring at the hallway that led to the bathroom before groaning and sinking back. Movement didn’t seem like a good idea, even though she knew she had to do something before she locked up. Going back into the science division and trying to work the Ganymede apparatus when any movement was painful would be impossible and disappointing in the face of all the successes they had had over the past two weeks.

It might be the time to ask them to figure out how to lighten the limbs of the apparatus. If they were going to have soldiers using it, they would have to. Battles rarely lasted a few minutes and the aching started after using the apparatus for ten minutes. If they wanted the control mechanism to work, they would have to find a way to make it easier on the pilots.

Marianne shifted in her chair, intending to scoot to the end and crawl to the bathroom. She must have made another painful noise because there was a grumble from down the hall.

A shoe soared through the door to her bedroom, clattering down the hallway. Marianne leaned further out of her chair, raising an eyebrow as C.C. stumbled out of her room.

The woman looked like she had just woken up. She was wearing one of Marianne’s nightdresses, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. C.C. slumped against the doorframe, glaring at her through bleary eyes. “If you’re going to die, do it quietly.”

Marianne flopped backwards into the chair. She groaned again, mostly just to annoy C.C. When the sound didn’t get C.C. to comment, she laughed and tipped her head back. “I thought you cherished me.”

“You’re right below sleep and food.”

“Top three, that’s impressive.” Marianne closed her eyes, letting herself sink further into the chair. “Is there a chance that I could make it to top one?”

C.C. hummed, Marianne hearing her walk down the hallway. She turned her head, watching as C.C. came around the edge of the chair. The woman perched on the arm, knocking Marianne’s arm off the armrest. Marianne whimpered, C.C. rolling her eyes before pulling Marianne around.

Marianne went willingly, carefully sliding her legs over the other armrest. She sighed when C.C. started messaging her neck and shoulders. Marianne’s eyes fluttered closed, letting C.C. work through the knotted muscles.

She heard C.C. make a disgusted sound. “Taking it easy, my ass. I thought you had the emperor’s favor.”

“Oh, that I have.” Marianne opened her eyes. She thought she saw something flicker across C.C’s face, but her usual expression was back just was quickly. Marianne sighed and closed her eyes again. “He’s been courting me when I’m not locked up in the lab.”

“I guess the courtship hasn’t gone well then.”

“C.C!” She reached up to slap at her friend’s arm. “It’s going fine. He invited me to one of the state events later this week.”

“Will you go?”

“If I can move.” Marianne shifted so C.C. could work further down her back. “It’s getting rough now that the raptors are expecting it. Some of the others can’t even make the link because they’re fighting it.” Marianne paused, turning her head so she could see C.C’s face. “I don’t have the same problem as the others. It’s never hard to get inside of VB-KR06-TRCA and I suspect that you have something to do with it.”

C.C. huffed. “I have better things to do than to tell lizards to listen to you.”

“No. The geass.” She reached up to rub underneath her eye.

“It only works on humans.”

“But mine has never worked.”

C.C. was silent for a moment, Marianne waiting for an answer. Instead, she just got a shrug as C.C. went back to work. “Each geass is different, even I don’t know what it is when I seal a contract. I won’t know until it activates.”

“C.C-”

“It may work like that, or you may just be better at telling a lizard what to do.”

Marianne huffed and turned her head again. It wasn’t an answer, but Marianne knew her well enough to know that C.C. would never give her a straight answer. C.C. probably didn’t have an answer for her, which was alright. As long as she was able to use the Ganymede apparatus and continue her work as a Knight of the Round, Marianne didn’t care. What she wanted more than an answer was a bath, and food.

She gently detached C.C’s hand, levering herself up from the chair. Marianne shuffled forward a few steps, turning around in time to see C.C. flop down into the chair that she had just vacated.

C.C. sunk into the chair, waving her off with a hand. “I’m going to make up lost time. Wake me up for dinner.”

“Why should I?”

C.C. didn’t answer, looking like she had fallen asleep already. Marianne rolled her eyes and started towards the bathroom. She would probably end up waking C.C. anyway. The woman would probably try to steal bits of whatever Marianne cooked, not that it would bother her. She had learned to live with C.C. in every aspect in her life. She would just have to learn to fit Charles into that equation, which wouldn’t be too hard.

Marianne rubbed at her left eye, blinking it quickly before giving up. There were other things that called for her attention. A mythical power that never worked was not one of them, not when everything else was falling neatly into place.


	2. Z-01

Suzaku winced as the suit pressed against the gunshot wound. Cecile had padded it up as best as she could, but the area was still tender. He couldn’t exactly protest, not when he had volunteered and certainly not when there were still innocent people out in the ghetto. He could deal with a little more pain to get them out alive. 

He pulled the zipper all the way up to his throat, tugging at the fabric in an attempt to loosen it a bit. The fabric just slipped back into place, Suzaku giving up on it. He opened the door, nodding when he saw Cecile standing on the other side. “I’m ready.”

She nodded, tipping her head to the helmets that were hanging on the wall. “We’ll get you in then. She’s already in holding and waiting.”

Cecile passed him a helmet, Suzaku staring at the arrangement. He was used to the bulky things that they had used in training. Those helmets had been attached to gigantic chairs with wicked looking protrusions. He had been told it had been to get a better neural interface, but Suzaku hadn’t been sure that they worked. Still, it had felt more secure when he was plugged in every way that they could manage. He couldn’t even see where the wires led on the helmet in his hands.

Suzaku turned it over, glancing over at Cecile. She was engrossed in the tablet in her hands, her fingers tapping across it quickly. Suzaku assumed that she was running through the final checks, which meant that they were just waiting for him.

She looked up at him, quickly tucking her tablet under her arm. Cecile smiled at him and nodded. “Go on. It’s a new model. It provides a better neural connection, shows you the feed and actually allows you to see. No more bulky chairs and helpless soldiers. Where she goes you can follow, if you can move fast enough.”

Suzaku chuckled and slipped the helmet on. It felt enough like the others that he had used, although the plastic over his left eye was tinted slightly darker than the one over his right. He shook his head, feeling the earpiece fall into a better place. He reached up to tap it, wincing at the slight feedback. It wasn’t too bad, certainly lighter than the other versions that he was used to. He would probably be able to run around in it.

He looked back up at Cecile, absently adjusting the chin strap. “It’s a good fit.”

“Lloyd will be happy to hear that. I’m more worried about how the neural link will hold up. We’ve never field tested this model before.” She swallowed, Suzaku seeing the first break in her professional demeanor. Cecile reached around to grip more tightly at her tablet. “You  _have_  run them before?”

“They let us, but only on the Sutherland bloodline.”

“Oh.” Suzaku wasn’t sure if she sounded more frightened or relieved. “Well this is something…new. She’s from the Lancelot line.”

“I haven’t heard of that one.”

“You wouldn’t have. She’s the first. According to the military, her sire is under lock and key until he can prove himself. Lloyd only got her because he said he wanted to run experiments. They assumed that it would involve dissecting.”

Suzaku opened his mouth to ask if they would be in trouble, but he quickly shut it again. His captain had already tried to execute him for disobeying an order, there wasn’t much more trouble that he could get it than that.

He swallowed, looking around the small room they were in. “Has anyone else tried?”

“We had a knight willing to, but he wouldn’t come in. From his tests, he said that she could be difficult to handle and that it took everything he had to keep her under control. For that reason, you’ll be staying back here while she runs.”

“Range?”

“No problem. Just worry about keeping her from snapping at our side.” Cecile gave him a wane smile. She keyed in the password for the room, taking out her tablet as the door slid open. “I’ll activate the link as soon as you’re in. I suggest you spend a few minutes adjusting. There’s a radio to our control hub. Just hit the button and talk.”

Suzaku nodded, his mouth going dry. He squared his shoulders and stepped into the room, unnerved by the silence. Every other time he had gone into the pens he had heard growling and hissing. He bit his lip, looking over the four stalls, spotting a bit of movement at the far end. Suzaku sucked in a quick breath and walked down to the end, careful not to stare at the raptor. “Ms. Cecile?”

“Engaging link.”

He felt something dig into the back of his neck, Suzaku yelping and reaching back. He felt the edge of something plastic, yanking his hand back before he tore it out. He glanced down at his fingers, staring at the blood there. He took a few deep breaths, swaying on his feet as he started to get a little woozy, usual for the transition. Beneath the dizziness, he could feel a spark of intelligence. It didn’t flicker or disappear, meaning that the link was established.

Suzaku leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes as he adjusted to the sensation of having something else there. He was about to start the usual run through of his new senses when something mentally slammed into him, almost breaking the connection.

_No! No hunt!_

Suzaku shook his head, trying to push against the images flashing through his head. The helmet was doing its best to translate from just basic images and feelings, but it wasn’t fast enough, not with the way that she was throwing things at him.

The stall rattled as she threw herself against the sides, Suzaku opening one eye in time to see a flash of white. He squeezed them shut again, taking a deep breath before pushing against her mind.

She reacted by shoving back at him again.  _I don’t want to hunt! Can’t make me!_

“L-listen-”

_I won’t do it!_

“Private Kururugi, if it’s too much for you-”

“No. I can do this.” Suzaku gritted his teeth, looking up for his first real look at her.

The raptor was held in place by the head cage, but that hadn’t stopped her from throwing her body from side to side. Suzaku could hear her claws scraping against the metal as she tried to extract herself. 

The metal of the stall blocked view of her body that he got, but he could see her face. The sandy brown of her scales changed to gold and then to white through her feathers. Suzaku could see streaks of gold through the feathers, but not enough to establish a pattern. He would have to see her whole body for that.

The raptor hissed and pulled back, her green eyes dilating as she swung her head towards him.

The video feed from the camera attached to the band just behind her jaw clicked on inside his helmet, giving Suzaku a good view of himself. Automatically, he checked to see that the camera was giving him everything he needed before he shook his head. There were more important things to worry about.

He could feel the raptor gathering herself up for another strike at him, so he acted first.  _I don’t want you to hunt. I need your help. I need to protect them._

Suzaku rooted around his memories for the situation in Shinjuku. He showed her fleeting images of people under attack and running, trying to underline the fact that they were  _his_  people. He could see her considering, but her attention was slipping away.

He scrambled for something else, feeling his frustration grow. Lelouch and the girl were still out in that mess, and they were in danger. With the order to kill everyone in effect the Britannian soldiers wouldn’t stop to ask questions. They would take advantage of the free rein to shoot. Lelouch was smart, but he wouldn’t be able to outrun the soldiers, not when they had surrounded the ghetto. From the short time he had to check on the girl, she wasn’t in any condition to run.

Lelouch wouldn’t leave her behind, which would kill them both. The only way Suzaku could see Lelouch wiggling out of any trouble was to bully his way through with his status. Suzaku was sure Lelouch wouldn’t do that. His friend was too proud and it would be putting Nunnally in danger.

Suzaku felt his breath catch at the thought of Nunnally. She would never know what happened to her brother. He would have gone out and disappeared. Suzaku didn’t even know where she was, didn’t know who was keeping the two of them safe. He just hoped that they were loyal.

_Pack?_  The tentative question made him focus on the raptor again. She had stopped thrashing in the stall and was now staring at him.  _Your pack?_

_Yes. They’re in danger._

To his surprise, he felt the raptor retreat slightly from his mind. She hovered there for a moment before nudging back up against his mind.

_I’ll help…to protect._

_Thank you._

She seemed confused by his thanks, but she didn’t say anything else. She just went still, obviously waiting to be released.

Suzaku fumbled for the button on the wall, probably pressing it with more force than he needed to. “Ms. Cecile? She says she’s ready to go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, she’ll run.”

“Alright.” Cecile didn’t sound too sure. “Releasing the headstall.”

Suzaku watched as the cage lifted somewhat, allowing the raptor to back further into the metal stall. He heard her turn around catching glimpses of more white feathers through the slit in the front. He thought he even saw some aqua on her, but it was gone too fast for him to really see.

He got a mental prod from her, slightly rougher than it needed to be. Suzaku just shook it off. She was just testing her boundaries, and he wouldn’t call her on it. It was a miracle that she was agreeing to help him when she could have just kept pushing at him until the link had broken.

Suzaku jumped at the sound of voices in his ear, forgetting that he had a comm unit in the helmet.

“Z-01 in position.”

“Disengaging locks.”

“Link stable.”

“Suzaku?”

He nodded, forgetting a moment that they couldn’t hear him. He was too focused on the small screen that showed what the raptor was seeing and the sense of building anticipation that he felt from her. “Stable.”

“Locks ready to go.”

“Z-01 ready for release.”

“Releasing Z-01.”

Suzaku heard the doors at the other end of the stall click open, only having a moment to study the world that he could see through the camera. Then it felt like the breath was punched out of him as the raptor took off at top speed.

He stumbled back against the wall, bracing himself against it. He could see the buildings of the ghetto passing by and get brief audio clips of the other raptors in combat. But what overwhelmed him the most was the exhilaration that he felt from the raptor at the sheer pleasure of running.

Suzaku heard someone laughing, only realizing it was himself when the raptor let out a roar.

“Suzaku?”

“I got her.” He panted for breath like he was the one running. “I got her. She’s just enjoying herself.”

He licked his lips before tentatively reaching out to pluck at the edges of her mind.  _Lelouch_.

To his surprised she changed course quickly. He got an answering  _Pack_  sent back to him before he felt her focus.

Suzaku narrowed his focus to the camera feed of the streets. He kept a light touch on her mind, steering her gently to where the subway tunnel was. Other than that touch, he let her run on her own. There was no reason to shove her around when she was already on task and certainly not when she was doing him a favor.

Instead, he tipped his head back against the wall, letting his mind get tugged along for the ride.

It was fine if he trusted her. She was young. She was strong. And she was the best chance he had at finding the girl and Lelouch.


	3. Red

Kallen wove her way through the stacks of boxes, looking over when she heard the rapid chattering. There had been rumors circulating through the Black Knights about how they would soon get support from the Six Houses of Kyoto and the Indian rebels. But she had never thought that anything would show up so soon.

She walked quickly into the crowd, rocking up onto her tiptoes to see what was in the pens at the far end of the warehouse. It was hard to see over so many heads, especially when people kept moving around. Kallen huffed and kept to the edges of the crowd, contenting herself with glimpses of raptors in the pen.

Most were in the same dull greens, grays and browns of the Glasgow and Sutherland lines, but Kallen caught glimpses of a brighter color in a separate pen.

Kallen pulled away from the crowd, heading to the lone pen that was tucked to one side. The other pen only had one person standing by it, Kallen nodding at Zero as she walked up.

Zero was silent for a moment before the helmet tipped to the side. “Come to enjoy the fruits of our labor?”

“I didn’t think they would get here so soon.”

“We have been busy.”

“I didn’t think Refrain raids counted.”

“They show our commitment to the people. And this is our reward.” Zero swept his hands out towards the pen, not flinching as the raptor in the closest pen lunged forward.

Kallen watched as the raptor circled in its pen, entranced by its plumage. She had seen colorful raptors before, but they were rarely used in the army.  It would be hard to hide a raptor with such bright colors, unless they weren’t going to hide the raptor at all. She looked over at the other raptors, watching them mill around.

“Are we going to get assignments?”

“Training only, at least for the next few days. And then more raids. We won’t be making a move until things are settled.” Zero stepped closer to the pen. “All the others will be sorted out per usual, but this one is special. He comes with the latest armor, the first of its kind. Like him.”

Kallen took a step forward, watching the raptor pace. “What bloodline?”

“I wasn’t told that. If he works out, feel free to ask.”

Kallen nodded, tensing when she realized what he was saying. She shook her head. “This one should be yours.”

“No. It’s foolish to give my best pilot a subpar raptor. You’ll get him and I’ll make do with one of the others. Or I’ll find my own.”

The statement made her grin. At least they wouldn’t be doing the usual refrain circuit. Going after the Britannian raptors would work far better for their cause. Even with the show of support, not all of the pilots would be assigned a raptor. It would mean going back to the old Glasgow and Sutherland lines, but there was nothing wrong with them. Her own Glasgow had been wonderful, at least until Britannia had taken it from her.

Kallen rested her hands on the metal pen, watching the raptor pace at the other end. He didn’t look afraid, just curious and cautious. Kallen frowned. It wasn’t a sure sign of the raptor’s personality, but that could mean that they would clash and she didn’t want that. She itched to try a connection with the raptor, and she had only been staring at him.

She swallowed and took a step back. “What’s his name?”

“That’s up to you, Q-1.” Zero shrugged and stepped around her. “Take the time to get to know each other. I’ll see to the others.”

He slipped around her, heading for where the rest of the Black Knights were gathered. Kallen glanced over at Zero, watching the rest move out of his way. A hiss from the pen dragged her attention back.

The raptor had shuffled towards the front of the pen. He tipped his head from side to side before starting to circle again. Every once and a while he would slow down and watch her before going back to pacing.

Kallen edged over to an empty crate, sitting down to watch the raptor move. She rested her chin in her palm. While the raptor paced, Kallen turned over names in her mind. Whatever it was, it had to be perfect. After all, the Britannians would be hearing about the two of them for a long time.


	4. Food

Suzaku could hear Z-01 circling in her pen as he approached. He couldn’t tell if she had heard what Lloyd had discussed with command, but she was making a racket. Suzaku glanced down at the armor he was wearing, tugging it at it awkwardly. It fit like the armor that he had worn when he was just another foot soldier, but it was brighter than the dull browns and greens. Suzaku didn’t know who had decided that he needed to match his raptor, especially when he was sure that most of her would be covered with her own body armor.

Z-01 rushed past again, Suzaku hearing a rattle as she scraped against the side of the portable pen. Suzaku saw that someone had already put the armor on her, but he couldn’t imagine who or how they had done it. From what he had seen of the raptor he was officially assigned to, she was a pain to get anything on. Without a holding stall, Z-01 was more likely to run circles around her handlers than to stand still.

Suzaku circled around until he reached the computer bank, giving Cecile a nervous smile. “She ready?”

Cecile nodded, not looking away from her computer screen. “Everything is running right. And so are you. The connections are running strong.”

She held out his helmet, wiggling it a bit as he finally looked at her. “We have the all clear. You know the path?”

Suzaku circled around her to stare at the screen. He stared at the map before pointing to a diagonal across the mountain. “I’ll send her that way and let her pick out a trail that will support the both of us. That should get us to Princess Cornelia in time. If all else fails, I’ll send her ahead of me.”

“You trust her that much?”

Suzaku shrugged. “I’ll have to.”

The raptor hadn’t let him down in Shinjuku when he hadn’t been able to follow her into the battle. It had taken a bit of effort to wrestle her away from the corpses that had been lying on the ground. If he had done it once, then he would be able to do it again. He _had_ to do it again, for Euphy’s sake.

He took the helmet from Cecile, nodding over at the map. “Can that be on the heads up display?”

“Done.” Cecile turned back to the computers, typing quickly.

Suzaku took that as his dismissal, turning on his heel to face the pen. He took a deep breath, nervousness making his stomach twist. It had been a while since he had communicated with Z-01, not since he had saved Lord Jeremiah from the rest of the pure bloods, but that hadn’t been much. He had just stood there with his raptor and added more of a threat to Jeremiah’s side. This would be his second run with Z-01, one of the most important ones.

Inside the pen, Z-01 stopped her rushing around, turning her head. Suzaku got a glimpse of a green eye before he pulled the helmet onto his head.

There was a click as it slid into place with the rest of his armor, Suzaku hissing when he felt the metal link engage. There was a burst of pain at the back of his neck and then it was gone, and Z-01 came rushing in.

Suzaku reeled under her chatter, sorting through it as quickly as he could. From what he could tell, it was mostly excitement to see him and demands to know what was going on. She could smell mud, blood, gunpowder and other raptors, all indicators of something going on.

_Calm down._ Suzaku was surprised when she listened to him, going silent in his head and still in her pen. He took a step closer, resting his hand on the rails. _I need your help again._

_Another hunt?_

Suzaku nodded. _We need to work fast, because there’s someone important in danger._

To his surprise, Z-01 threw an image of Lelouch at him, the same image he had used to convince her the first time they had worked together. Suzaku shook his head, trying to figure out a way of explaining the situation. He didn’t have the time to work through politics with a raptor. Instead, he opted for picking out her memories of Euphy. _She asked us to. It’s her sister._

Z-01 cocked her head to the side before bobbing. _We hunt._

Suzaku reached forward and opened the pen, hearing Cecile gasp behind him. He ignored her in favor of stepping to the side to allow Z-01 to trot out.

The raptor immediately wanted to run, Suzaku panicking and pulling on her mind. To his surprise, she came to an immediate stop. Z-01 turned to look at him. He could see that she was impatient to run by the way that she was shifting in place, but she was standing still because he had asked. Suzaku walked over to her side, sending her the images that were showing on his helmet. He made sure to highlight the area that was covered with the landslide. _We have to move fast, but we have to be careful. Half of our back up is gone._

Z-01 raised herself up on her toes, taking a deep breath before shaking her head. _Careful but fast?_

_Yes. Can you do that?_

The raptor studied him for a moment before lowering her head until they were seeing eye-to-eye. _It’s important._

He rocked slightly as the raptor bumped against him. _I’ll go first._

She trotted off, Suzaku staring after her before falling in after her. He watched carefully, nodding when Z-01 started skirting around the landslide, her head bobbing as she looked for passages through the trees. Anything she found she tossed back to him, Suzaku surprised by how much she was sharing. In Shinjuku she had just let him tell her where to run and she hadn’t bothered to talk to him much with Jeremiah.

Ahead of him, Z-01 turned her head to look back at him. _It’s a hunt. We work together on hunts._

There was no other answer that he could give to her, not when they were already on mission. If his raptor was cooperating, then he wouldn’t look too much into it, not with the viceroy’s life on the line.

Z-01 gave him one last look before going back to moving up the slope, heading towards the point that Suzaku had given her. It was the last known location of Princess Cornelia. They would work their way out from there, hopefully before Zero’s troops had the time to find where she was.

They had to get to the princess, her life was on the line, as was the respectability of the Camelot Science division. More importantly, Euphy trusted him, and he didn’t want to let her down.


	5. Effulgent

Suzaku watched as the raptor darted around the garden, making sure to keep a tight hold on her mind. He wasn’t sure that she was even allowed up here, but Princess Euphemia had requested the raptor’s presence. The princess must have wanted to see what Lloyd was doing with her, especially after the victories that he had won against Zero and the Black Knights with her.

That didn’t stop him from being nervous. He could feel her shoving at his hold on her, feel how much she wanted to run. He wanted to allow it, but he wasn’t sure how she would react.

She wasn’t like the other raptors that were used by the military. The Sutherlands and Glasgows were well known for being dull, something that they were specifically bred for as they were often passed through different pilots. His raptor was a new one, meant for a single pilot and far more intelligent, although it didn’t seem like a good thing in the long run. The day before Lloyd had gotten the news that military officials had killed her sire. They had demanded to see her record despite all of her successes. The officials were probably worried that she would go rogue like her father.

Suzaku thought the idea was silly, but he was the one in her head most of the time. Or he had thought the idea was silly until Euphemia had asked him to bring the raptor up to the gardens and let her run. Euphemia had even asked him to take out the comm device that kept the two of them connected, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He could just imagine the raptor running wild and tearing through the administrative building. Suzaku wasn’t sure he would be able to stop her if she got that idea in her head.

He jumped as Euphemia threaded her arm through his, losing his hold on the raptor’s mind. He scrambled for his hold, feeling the raptor slip it and charge off the path and into the foliage. Suzaku gritted his teeth and tried to rein her in, stopping when Euphemia scooted closer to him.

“Let her run. I bet she hasn’t gotten the chance to in a while.”

“She has…”

“She’s been running around fighting, not running for fun. There’s a difference. Or that’s what my sister says.” Euphemia tipped her head towards the thick foliage. “Cornelia brings Boudicca up here every once and a while so she can stretch her legs. My sister says it does wonders for the link.”

Euphemia tipped her head to look up at him, blushing and looking away a moment later.

Suzaku felt his throat go dry, not sure what to say to her. He fumbled for something, ignoring the brief glimpses of the garden that his raptor showed him in her excitement.

For a lack of anything to say, he just nodded. “She says thank you.”

He heard the raptor chitter from the bushes, Suzaku shooting her a glare. She popped her head up for a moment before disappearing into the greenery.

A soft chuckle from beside him made him look over at Euphemia, blushing when he saw the smile on her face.

Euphemia shook her head, untangling their arms. She patted his arm before clasping her hands behind her back, walking a bit ahead of him. “You can tell her thanks. And that it’s because I wanted to thank her…to thank the both of you.”

“Your highness-”

“I wanted to thank the both of you for rescuing my sister.” She stopped abruptly, turning around to face him. Euphemia stared at the path beneath their feet. She shifted nervously in place before looking back at him. “I thought I wouldn’t see her again after Zero had trapped her, but you broke through.”

“That was because you gave me the chance.” Suzaku glanced around, not able to see where the raptor was in the mess of plants. He assumed that she was sticking close. Suzaku finally met Euphemia’s gaze, wanting to shrink back into the plants with his raptor. “We wouldn’t have been sent out unless you had said anything. We should be thanking you for your trust.”

Euphemia laughed, Suzaku feeling the breath get punched out of him at the sound. He realized that he was staring, Suzaku quickly averting his gaze.

He fumbled for something to say, saved from stumbling through another thank you when his raptor bounded out of the plants. She stopped between him and Euphemia.

The raptor stayed in a crouch for a moment before straightening up so she could look Euphemia in the eyes.

Suzaku reached out for the raptor, freezing when Euphemia held out a hand to him. She reached her other hand out, offering it to the raptor.

The raptor tipped her head to the side before stretching out her nose. She rested it against Euphemia’s hand for a moment before hopping backwards. She bumped into Suzaku before stepping behind him, curving around him.

Suzaku watched her behavior carefully, surprised when she didn’t share what she thought. Instead she just watched Euphemia from where she had tucked her head under Suzaku’s arm.

He cleared his throat. “She says your welcome.”

Euphemia took a step forward. “Does she have a name?”

Suzaku shook his head, not about to answer with her designation number. Even he didn’t call her Z-01, she could easily understand when he was referring to her through their link. When he was talking about her, she was always ‘the raptor’ because there wasn’t another one in Lloyd’s lab.

Euphemia shook her head, folding her hands in front of her. “That’s a shame, she deserves one. What was her sire’s name?”

“Lancelot. But he wasn’t…”

“I heard about him. But she’s nothing like him, I can tell.” Euphemia smiled. “Lancelot is a better name for her.”

Suzaku didn’t have to look down at the raptor to figure out what her answer was. He could feel her interest in his mind. The name didn’t mean anything to her, not even when he provided context. She just knew that names meant something special, and it was something that she wanted.

“She likes it.”

“Then it’s settled. She’ll be Lancelot, our own white knight.”

Lancelot trilled, bobbing her head before stepping out beside Suzaku.

Euphemia seemed to take that as some kind of answer. She nodded, suddenly becoming serious. She looked at the two of them long enough for Lancelot to start shifting uncomfortably. Suzaku could sense her need to run again, but she was holding still for him. Hesitantly, he reached out to rest a hand on Lancelot’s back. The contact seemed to steady her for a moment, Lancelot arching her back.

Her attention snapped back to Euphemia when she held out her hand. Suzaku followed her gaze, staring at the hand that the princess offered them. When he dragged his gaze back up to her face, Euphemia was smiling serenely at them.

“Suzaku Kururugi, will you and Lancelot help me? Will you fight to help keep the peace here? I think that Area 11 needs its own knight, to make sure it isn’t torn apart. Will do help me do that?”

He saw Lancelot turn her head, obviously looking to him to provide an explanation or an answer. Suzaku couldn’t put together the thoughts for it. Instead, he found himself moving forward to take Euphemia’s hand.

He wanted to do that, he wanted to protect the civilians before they were caught up in whatever Zero planned. He had worked with the recovery from Narita, and the worst part was clearing the bodies from the landslide. He could just imagine what would have happened if the city hadn’t been cleared out. Something needed to be done about that, people needed to be saved. Since he hadn’t saved them the first time, he had to make up for the mistakes that had followed.

Suzaku looked up at Euphemia’s face, feeling his shoulders relax as she squeezed his hand. She rested her other hand on top of his, Suzaku surprised to see her tearing up.

“Thank you. Thank you both.”


	6. Falling

Lelouch pulled the communication unit out of his ear, holding it tightly in his hand. He was tempted to throw it against the wall, but then he would be useless on the next attack. There were plans that he still needed to carry out, things that he would need to be able to use a raptor for. The Black Knights were low on supplies anyway.

Then again, what was the point of all of those plans when they all factored in meeting the white raptor and its pilot? Every plan had a contingency for the white raptor, and that was to kill it and its pilot on sight. All of that was useless now that he knew that Suzaku was the one giving the orders.

Lelouch dropped the communication unit beside the raptor pen, barely hearing the raptor start to rattle around inside. He slammed his hand against the pen, hearing the raptor screech in surprise before it scrambled to the other end of the pen. The raptor hissed and started to make tight circles away from him.

He turned away from the raptor, pacing over the computers set up by the pen. He stared at them for a moment, tempted to go into the recorded footage from the raptor’s point of view. It wouldn’t hurt to check to see if he had been mistaken, because he had to be. Suzaku worked with the engineering corps, the closest he got to the raptors was helping put the armor on them. Suzaku wouldn’t lie, not to him.

Except he had. Suzaku had been lying to him since he had come to Ashford.

Lelouch leaned against the computer bank, curling his fingers around the edges of the table. The whole point of his rebellion to create a better world for Nunnally, and he was sure that she wouldn’t accept one without Suzaku. _He_ wouldn’t accept it without Suzaku. He wasn’t willing to risk Suzaku’s life, his friend wasn’t expendable.

Besides, he needed Suzaku for Nunnally. He had no need for a knight, he had given up all pretenses of being a prince long ago. But Nunnally would need someone to look after her while he was gone, and Suzaku was perfect for that. It would keep the both of them out of trouble long enough for him to do what he needed to. But that wouldn’t happen now. The whole country knew who he was. The Black Knights knew who he was and they would be out for his blood. Suzaku would be considered a traitor to his people and the Black Knights would want to take him out. As their leader, Lelouch should make the tactical choice, but he already knew that he wouldn’t be able to do it.

The first thing that Zero had done was rescue Suzaku, he couldn’t let Zero be the end of him either.

Maybe if they just killed the raptor…but then Suzaku would come after them. Suzaku had made himself perfectly clear on what he thought about the Black Knights. Lelouch couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t lead to the two conclusions that he didn’t want. Suzaku couldn’t die, but the Black Knights couldn’t be disbanded. There was no way out.

Suzaku certainly wouldn’t make it easy for him. Lelouch had seen how he and the white raptor worked. The raptor was lethal enough, but then Suzaku would follow after her with determination. Lelouch was surprised that he hadn’t realized that it was Suzaku earlier, but there had been other things to worry about, like getting away from the two of them.

He glanced over to the raptor, barely paying attention to it when it hissed at him. He was too busy running over the odds again, looking at the problem from every angle. The answer was still the same; it was him or Suzaku. In saving Suzaku, he had created a monster, one that was set on destroying him. It was the worst possible outcome, and the one that he hadn’t predicted. It had never crossed his mind that Suzaku would want to kill him.

Lelouch pressed a hand to his mouth, feeling something stick in the back of his throat. He swallowed around it, taking a moment to center himself again. It didn’t work, the catch in his throat unsticking and bubbling out as laughter. Lelouch tried to muffle it for a moment, aware of the other Black Knights just outside the raptor compound, but he didn’t care. Let them think what they wanted, let them figure out how to destroy the monster.

Lelouch was going to save him.


	7. Green

Kallen watched Suzaku from across the fire, her hand curling in the sand. It took her a moment to realize what she was looking for, feeling silly when she realized it. She was looking for the communication unit. It was strange to be without it for so long. She had been using it nearly every night on some raid or another while they trained up their new recruits. It had been months since she hadn’t spent a night in Guren’s mind. 

She didn’t even know what had happened to the unit. The last she remembered having it was on Shikine Island and it had been securely on her head there. It must have gotten lost during her transfer to wherever they were. Kallen was reasonably sure that it wasn’t Shikine, or else they would have found the Britannian military base while they had wandered the island. Where they were wouldn’t matter until mourning when the two of them could start searching again.

Kallen drew a few patterns in the sand. She was sure that the Black Knights were searching for her, Zero wouldn’t let her go missing. Guren certainly wouldn’t listen to anyone else, which would mean that the Black Knights would lose their best raptor, not that it would be their first consideration.

That didn’t stop her from worrying about Guren. She had just left him outside of the trap in her attempt to distract Suzaku from killing Zero. She had heard Guren up until the point when something had fired on them. That was probably the point when she had lost her communication unit, which meant that Guren hadn’t heard from her in hours. He would probably be pacing and worrying about her, which would make him hard to handle.

She sighed and leaned back on her hands, surprised when Suzaku looked up from his careful study of the spitted fish. “Worrying about your raptor?”

Kallen studied him carefully before shrugging. There was no point in dancing around safe topic. He hadn’t tried to pull information from her before, but she would stay on her guard just in case. She shifted in place, wishing that she had thought to build up a small mound of sand behind her. After all day with Guren and walking around the island, she wanted to recline a bit while she waited for their dinner.

She sighed and tipped her head to the side. “Yes.”

“Lancelot will be out of her mind.”

“Lancelot?”

Suzaku looked embarrassed for a moment. “Yeah. She’s officially something like VB-Z-01, but that doesn’t sound right.”

Kallen shook her head. She had never understood the Britannian naming system. They seemed to be perfectly willing to give their raptors a meaningless collection of letters and numbers, even the soldiers who spent time piloting them didn’t seem the care.

Suzaku turned one of the spits, poking briefly at the fish before shaking his head. “Her sire’s name was Lancelot. Since they got rid of him, he’s not using it anymore.”

“You named her after a Britannian legend?”

“Why not? It fits her.”

“Of course. She fights for the Britannians.”

“That’s not…” Suzaku sighed and shook his head. “You sound a lot like Lelouch now.”

Kallen rolled her eyes at being compared to Lelouch. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No. It’s just different from the way you are at school. That’s not a bad thing either.” Suzaku leaned forward, Kallen a bit surprised by the motion. It looked just like his raptor when she was waiting. “But you and Lelouch are alike. You both get really passionate.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“No. It’s admirable.” Suzaku laughed and turned his attention back to the fish. “I just wish that you weren’t on the other side.”

“Other side?” Kallen scoffed and shook her head. “You’re the one on the other side. We’re fighting for your rights too, you know. You’re confusing submission with peace.”

“Did Zero tell you that?”

“Yes. Why?” Suzaku frowned and shook his head, avoiding her question entirely. Kallen huffed and leaned back. “So what if Zero told me that, it doesn’t make it less true.”

“It doesn’t make it _the_ truth.”

“It’s close enough for me.”

That finally got Suzaku to be quiet, something that Kallen was glad for. She didn’t want to get into a debate about the morality of what they were doing. It wasn’t right to sit on what her family had when her own people were suffering. Suzaku wasn’t one to talk either, not when he had been promoted to a personal knight of royalty. It was their duty to help people because they could and because Britannia was wrong. Trying to get that through to Suzaku would be hard because he had already made up his mind, just like she had made up hers.

She shifted back in the sand, tugging at the headband that was still tied around her wrists. “How much longer until they’re ready?”

Suzaku cocked his head, focusing on the fish. Once again, he had the same mannerisms that she recognized from seeing the raptor in battle. It was enough to make her wonder why she hadn’t figured out that Suzaku was the one running beside Lancelot. Then again, she hadn’t been looking for the soldier that had been following after the raptor outside of battle. Now that she knew, she couldn’t stop seeing it. It was in the way that he held himself and in the way he moved.

Kallen was sure that it was the same for her, although she didn’t really notice it. There hadn’t been a need to watch herself for bit of her raptor coming into her life. She hadn’t known that Suzaku was Lancelot’s pilot, so there had been no need to hide from him. If anyone else had noticed, they would have just thought that she was going through an upswing in her fake sickness. She had gotten more comments on how good she was looking, but nothing on how much like her raptor she had become.

She looked up at Suzaku, watching the firelight flicker over him. In the dim light, his eyes looked just like Lancelot’s. Even disconnected from his raptor, there was still a lot of her in him.

It made her wonder how much of Guren others could see in her.


	8. New

Lelouch tugged back on the head harness to try and slow the _Indominus_ , grumbling under his breath when the dinosaur shook his head and tried to keep barreling forward. He wrapped the ropes around his hands and sat back, feeling Kallen grab his shoulders and help him pull the _Indominus_ to a walk.

He nodded at Kallen before leaning forward. The dinosaur was still fractious, Lelouch could feel it in the way that it walked, but at least it hadn’t thrown them off. His escape plan hadn’t been too complicated, not once he had seen the _Indominus rex_ tied up inside the cavern. He and Kallen had needed a way out, and he had wanted to flaunt the escape in Schneizel’s face. Nothing was better than getting away with one of Britannia’s prized hybrids.

An _Indominus_ was only granted to the royal family and to the Knights of the Round. The dinosaurs were kept close, Britannia not wanting to lose their advantage over their Areas. Lelouch was sure that the heads of the military were already furious that places in the Areas and the Chinese Federation were starting their own lines of raptors, often smarter and better prepared for the mental link than their own. His theft of the _Indominus_ would be a worse slap in the face. The dinosaur might not be able to breed, but Lelouch was sure that Rakshata could figure something out. If not, then she could create a whole new breed, something that could stand up to an _Indominus_ without a problem.

He was increasingly tempted to keep the dinosaur. The Britannians were already reacted with fear when they saw the Guren running towards them, what would happen when they saw the _Indominus_ following after. Better yet, the dinosaur was distinctive. No one could mistake the _Indominus_ from some of the others that were known. Lelouch couldn’t think of any royal _Indominus_ that were black and gold, they were all more brightly colored.

The _Indominus_ shook his head, finally settling into a walk that didn’t threaten to push into a run. Lelouch sighed and passed the makeshift reins to Kallen.

She shifted around to sit right on the _Indominus’_ shoulders. Lelouch caught the disconcerted look on her face before she adjusted to having to physically steer the dinosaur. It probably felt strange after spending most of her time guiding Guren with her mind. The _Indominus_ must feel slow to her.

Lelouch settled down behind her, curling his fingers around one of the barbs on the dinosaur’s back. It wouldn’t hold him on if the dinosaur decided to throw him off, but it made him feel more secure. It would be a long ride to a point where they could get to the rest of the Black Knights. He was sure that Ohgi would keep them close and follow the Britannians in the hopes that they would find them. Failing that, C.C. would never let him get lost, he was still too valuable to her. It was just a matter of getting away from the Britannians.

“Zero, what’s our plan?”

He glanced over at Kallen before scanning the island. They were staying away from the beach just to keep from leaving footprints that they could follow. None of the soldiers had brought raptors, unless they had brought Suzaku’s white raptor with them. Lelouch wasn’t even sure why the group had brought the _Indominus_ with them. Lelouch had heard something about a Druid system, but he had ignored it in favor of making his escape while Suzaku had frozen. He hadn’t thought further than leaving the cave and Schneizel behind.

Lelouch stood up carefully, looking out towards the glimpses of sea he could get. He couldn’t see their sub, but he didn’t doubt that it was close. It would have been better if they had one working comm unit, but they would have to work with what they had.

He leaned forward, squinting at the horizon. He doubted that the island they were on was too far away from Shinkine. Schneizel wouldn’t be able to get to the island that quickly from the Shinkine military base if they were far away. If they were lucky, the _Indominus_ would be able to make the swim and Lelouch could use his geass to sneak the two of them in long enough to make the pick up call.

Or maybe the Black Knights would have already sent out search teams.

Lelouch huffed at that thought. He and Kallen wouldn’t be that lucky, they would have to get out of the situation on their own.

“Zero?”

“Look for a place where we can hide for the moment. We’ll move out again after dark.”

Kallen nodded and tugged the _Indominus_ deeper into the tangle of trees. The dinosaur grumbled by obeyed the pull, dropping further into a crouch to avoid knocking itself into trees.

Lelouch allowed himself a moment to wish that there was a way to get into the dinosaur’s head. It would be easier to hide it if he could command the _Indominus_ to camouflage or hide its thermal signature. They would have to settle for the basic, trained commands until they could get a mental link up.

He lowered himself back down, taking the space that Kallen scooted over to make. He nodded at her, continuing to lay out his plan as they pushed further into the forest. “Unless we stumble across a search party, our best bet is to swim back to Shinkine.”

“We’ll have to find out where the island is then, because I don’t remember seeing it when I woke up.” Kallen bit her lip. “I just went for the first source of water I could find.”

“I’m not questioning your actions.”

Kallen nodded, her gaze dropping down to the _Indominus’_ back. “Then we’re keeping him.”

“Yes.” Lelouch reached down to pat the _Indominus_ ’ back. The dinosaur made a soft huffing noise, Lelouch not sure if that meant it was pleased or not. It was hard to tell when he couldn’t look at the entire animal. “He’s our war prize, snatched right out from under the second prince.”

“Good, but you’re keeping him.” Kallen twisted to face him, leveling a steady glare in his direction. “You’re not foisting off the best on me again, not after last time.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’d prefer to work with Guren and I would prefer to have something that will stick with you the entire time so I don’t have to worry about what you’re doing.”

“The Zero Squad-”

“You send them away half the time. It’s hard to concentrate when I’m trying to figure out if you’re going to get yourself in trouble, especially since you insist on staying on the battlefield.”

“It helps morale.”

“And it gives me a headache. You keep the _Indominus_ , that way we all know that you’re not going to die on us.”

Lelouch went quiet, the moment of silence seeming to make Kallen realize how she had spoken to him. She blushed, but didn’t look away. He admired her spirit and devotion, even if he hadn’t needed the lecture.

He had been tempted to keep the _Indominus_ from the start. It was his right as a prince of Britannia to have one, and he had expected to get one right up until the moment that Charles had declared him dead. He had thought he would pick a knight and bestow the _Indominus_ on him as a reward for his loyalty, as all the Britannian prince and princesses did. There had been exceptions to the rule, like Cornelia who preferred to stick to the smaller raptors, but at least that had been her own choice. Lelouch had not gotten that chance.

It would be a welcome change from the raptors that he took when he went out on their raids. Lelouch had stuck to the ones that weren’t in use, the older ones who were so used up that they wouldn’t move on their own. It was hard to plan out a successful raid when he had to force a raptor to move. It would feel good to have a competent creature to work with, even if it meant conceding that Kallen had a point. He might have started to get a little reckless with his own safety.

Lelouch nodded slowly. “I’ll accept your terms, Q-1. Although they may be null and void unless we can find a way off this island.”

“Oh, they’ll find us.” Kallen went back to scanning the forest. “Ohgi won’t leave me behind and none of them will want to leave you.”

Lelouch tilted his head, giving her that point. He didn’t bother to tell her that it was a matter of time; she knew that was well as he did.  They would have to wait for the Britannians to clear out to start making any moves themselves. Lelouch hated the inactivity, especially when he knew that Schneizel was on the island, messing with whatever cave they had fallen into. Sitting around wouldn’t answer that question, or the question on how they got to the island in the first place.

He curled his fingers around the closest barb, running his fingers over it. Lelouch sighed and shifted on the _Indominus’_ back, resigning himself to one more day stranded on the island.


	9. Symbiont

C.C. watched Lelouch lean on the railing around the pen, harsh frown lines crossing his forehead. Below him the _Indominus rex_ paced the pen, stumbling from one side to the other. The dinosaur shook his head, snarling and slamming his tail into the bars of the pen. Every once and a while Lelouch would curse under his breath, the _Indominus_ ’ erratic motion slowing down into something more natural.

C.C. hummed to herself, watching the two struggle against each other for a moment more before Lelouch pushed himself away from the railing.

“Damn it!”

The dinosaur seemed to have the same thought. He gave himself a shake, giving the two of them a baleful look before storming off to the other side of the pen. The _Indominus_ was still in range, but the dinosaur probably felt safer further away from Lelouch and his attempts to get into the dinosaur’s mind.

She ambled over to the computer, studying the charts that showed Lelouch’s attempts. C.C. wasn’t sure how to read most of them, there were just lines and complex equations. The part that was more interesting to her was the percentage at the end. A big 24% flashed back at her at red. From what she remembered from when Marianne had been working with the system 24% was well within the failure range. To her knowledge, there had to be at least a 45% to have a successful connection and full control. C.C. hummed to herself as she moved through the charts, trying to pick out the failure points.

Marianne had explained the whole system to her once, but C.C. hadn’t paid too much attention. The whole dinosaur program had seemed like a flash in the pan. The raptors were hard to control and were hard to keep penned without escaping. The military officials had wanted something bigger and smarter, but they had started to settle for duller and steadier. Now she almost wished that she could remember.

She drummed her fingers against the control panel before shrugging. It wasn’t telling her what Lelouch was doing wrong, but she could guess. “Have you tried _not_ throwing your weight around?”

“Yes.” The answer was hissed out between Lelouch’s teeth. “I’ve tried everything.”

C.C. made a vague noise of agreement, coming back over to stand by Lelouch. She could speculate how much Lelouch had really tried, especially considering how eager he had been when he had arrived back. He had nearly ordered a celebration for the capture of an _Indominus rex_ , completely glossing over the fact that he and Kallen had gone missing. C.C. had her suspicions, but she hadn’t been able to get any information out of him. He had been too busy trying to get into the _Indominus_ ’ head.

She went back to leaning on the railing, studying the dinosaur as he kept himself away from the two of them. Her expertise ended with the early raptors, the ones that were essentially empty heads for the soldiers and knights to use. The _Indominus_ was another thing altogether, intelligent and made to work as a partner with knights and royalty. She drummed her fingers against the railing before walking over to the computer bank and taking the second communication device waiting there.

“What are you doing?”

C.C. held up the communication system before sliding it onto her head. “I’m helping you.”

Lelouch scoffed and turned away, heading over to the computers to look at the results himself. C.C. doubted that he would have more success than she had, but she would let him try to ignore her.

She played with the switch for the communication system, giving him a long look. She knew Lelouch had used some of the dumber raptors before, which seemed to have suited him fine. That was probably the cause of the problem because the _Indominus_ was two times smarter than any of the raptors that Lelouch had piloted. Just bullying his way into the dinosaur’s head wouldn’t work, but C.C. was sure that Lelouch hadn’t considered another way.

C.C. flicked the twitch on, feeling the short shock that ran down her spine. The _Indominus_ reacted as well, the dinosaur stiffening and turning his head to look at her. C.C. was careful not to push into the dinosaur’s head, just sitting on the outer edges and watching. She felt the _Indominus_ push against her mind, trying to shove her away, but she just sat still. The dinosaur made a few more attempts to push her out before giving up and starting to pace around the pen that he was in.

She watched the workings of the _Indominus_ ’ mind, catching the series of thoughts that drifted through its mind. C.C. smiled at the escape plans that ran through his head before his thoughts shifted to food. C.C. felt her own stomach rumble at the thought, sighing before she pushed it away.

The sooner she got Lelouch and the _Indominus_ talking the sooner she could go look after herself. Having an _Indominus_ on their side would be a relief for her. With the intelligence that she was seeing, she wouldn’t have to rush out to the battlefield to make sure that Lelouch didn’t kill himself by pushing too far. Kallen might have been a better pilot for the dinosaur, but C.C. had seen how attached she was to her assigned raptor, and she had to admit that Kallen seemed to do better with the smaller dinosaur.

She had a few moments alone with the _Indominus_ before Lelouch barged in. C.C. winced as Lelouch shoved in alongside her before practically clawing at the dinosaur’s mind.

She could see where the whole connection was going wrong in the way that Lelouch was throwing his weight around. The _Indominus_ didn’t want to back off and that just made Lelouch press harder, which made the dinosaur balk more. It was a vicious cycle that C.C. was sure had been going from the start.

She shook her head as Lelouch tried to force the dinosaur into motion, rolling her eyes at the complex reasons and future moves that leaked through. Until he could control that, he would just confuse the dinosaur, which would make it hesitate and frustrate the both of them.

C.C. sighed and reached up to adjust the communication system before pushing deeper into the _Indominus_ ’ mind. The dinosaur roared and charged at the double invasion. Out of the corner of her eye, C.C. saw Lelouch jump backward, but she just stayed where she was, smoothing out Lelouch’s orders and mental presence.

_Calm down. It’s not that bad._

_GET OUT!_

C.C. reinforced the command with a push.  _Calm down and listen._

The dinosaur snorted but stopped his charge. She watched as the _Indominus_ paced down the side of the pen. It wasn’t what she wanted, but it was what she had to work with. At least the dinosaur was pacified now.

She rocked back onto her heels, fixing Lelouch with a stern look. “Stop bombarding him or give him to someone who knows to pilot him. Don’t act like he’s one of your idiot raptors.”

“What?”

“I’m having to translate for you, and I’m not going to do that forever, not if you want me to be able to play decoy.”

Lelouch huffed. “I don’t _need_ you to play decoy.”

C.C. laughed, looking back at the dinosaur. To her amusement, she felt the same thought from the dinosaur.

She played with the controls on the communication unit, flipping them down. It was easier to exist in the _Indominus_ ’ mind without the equipment boosting her own mind louder than his own. She would check Lelouch’s unit later, maybe turning him down would help. She would just have to experiment when Lelouch was distracted. Lelouch distracted tended to yield better results than when he was focused on the task. Lelouch distracted might be the only way he was able to control the _Indominus_ , which meant that she would have to go out with him, not that she minded. Lelouch didn’t seem to know how to properly leave a guard up around him, which meant that it was up to her to protect her investment.

C.C. reached over to slide the comm. unit out of Lelouch’s ear. He started to sputter but C.C. ignored it, leveling a finger in his direction. “I’ll help you with this, but you have to learn how to do this. I’m not going to be your translator forever.”

“Fine.” Lelouch jammed the unit back into his ear. “Just keep the _Indominus_ in line.”

“That’s your job.” She didn’t think Lelouch heard her but it didn’t matter, he would figure it out in the end. Until then, she could train him to pilot the dinosaur without running the risk of getting his head bitten off.

 _No promises_.

C.C. chuckled at the input from the _Indominus_. It was almost tempting to stay along for the ride, just to watching Lelouch learn some humility. She couldn’t think of any other chance she would get for that kind of entertainment, especially since Lelouch just wanted her to stay back and out of trouble. It hadn’t done him much good before, and C.C. couldn’t see it doing him much good in the future.

They needed each other; Lelouch just hadn’t figured how much quite yet.


	10. Flowing

It was breathtaking to watch Suzaku and Lancelot move. If not for the communication device that Lelouch could see hooked around Suzaku’s ear, he could have believed that the two of them were sharing the same mind.

There was barely a delay in their thoughts and actions, Lelouch catching the short glances that they threw to each other as they confirmed their next movement. It wasn’t hesitation, it was more like a quick check to see that the other was still there, a delayed reaction for some communication that had already been sent between them. Even with those moments, they were ahead of the guards stationed to keep them out. Lelouch could hear the guards shouting orders, but Suzaku and Lancelot were nearly silent as they moved through the guards in the building.

In comparison, Lelouch felt like Shinkiro was blundering after them. Not only was the _Indominus rex_ larger than _Velociraptor britannicus_ , but there were three minds trying to work in tandem. The further Shinkiro pushed through the forces that were rushing towards them, the more that Lelouch was pushed out of the loop. He wanted to contribute, but C.C. and Shinkiro kept him well away.

_Spot. Watch the raptor._

Lelouch rolled his eyes at being ordered around, but dutifully took up his place. Usually, he wouldn’t have argued. When the Black Knights went into battle, he had to split his concentration between the battlefield, the rest of the Black Knights and what Shinkiro was doing. He was more than happy to let C.C. have most of the control during those times since his attention was elsewhere. This time they were just assaulting a weak position, which didn’t leave him much to do.

They didn’t even need the rest of the Black Knights, not with Shinkiro barreling through the heavy cars and tanks that the invaders were bringing to bear and Lancelot tearing through their ground troops. Between the two of them, they had gained the building within minutes of their team up.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Shinkiro suddenly rocked to the side. C.C. didn’t seem to be surprised by the move, her head jerking as the _Indominus_ turned. Lelouch leaned forward to ask what was going on, the words barely formed before he got his answer.

A screech from his left had him twisting to see what was going on.

Lelouch got a good look as Lancelot climbed Shinkiro, gaining the _Indominus_ ’ back through a series of leaps on supply boxes. The raptor landed lightly, running across Shinkiro’s hips before leaping off the other side. Lelouch leaned over to see where she landed, his eyes widening as he saw Suzaku sliding under Shinkiro’s belly.

The _Indominus_ roared and stepped to the side to avoid the two of them, but they were already out of the way and moving on.

Lelouch thought he felt a spark of admiration from Shinkiro as Suzaku and Lancelot plowed into the next bunch of guards. Most of the men scattered at the sight of them. The Chinese Federation might have financed the invasion of Japan, but they hadn’t bothered to provide raptors. Lelouch couldn’t imagine why, but it gave them the advantage, even with one raptor and a single _Indominus._

_They’re beautiful._

There was a flash of jealousy from Shinkiro before the _Indominus_ shoved his mind away again. The dinosaur charged forward, ducking his head in time to bowl over a few tanks in the bay that were trying to aim at them.

The tanks groaned and rolled onto their sides, Shinkiro taking the chance to clamber up on top of them. He snapped at the people that were trying to escape, catching a few and tossing them as he shook his head. Secure on the top of the tanks, Shinkiro tipped his head, Lelouch sitting upright when the dinosaur’s eyes focused on him.

_Stop staring. Keep a look out._

Lelouch sputtered at the chastisement, feeling a burst of amusement from C.C. He shot her an annoyed look, the woman not bothering to look ashamed about being caught. She just shrugged, leaning forward to pat Shinkiro’s neck as the dinosaur moved off. “He’s right. You’re staring.”

“Shut up.”

He tried to ignore the smirk that C.C. gave him before Shinkiro took up her attention again. Lelouch wrapped his hand more firmly around the horn of the saddle across the _Indominus’_ shoulders. He heard the two of them laugh in his mind, trying to shove them away. It was a less controlled move, but Lelouch hoped that it proved his point well enough. He didn’t think that telling them to focus would work well, not when they had caught him watching Suzaku and Lancelot.

Lelouch rocked back in the saddle, glancing around. The guards were thinning out, which meant that they were running through them faster than Lelouch had thought, or they were retreating. If the latter were true, then they could follow them right to the center of command.

He sent a quick rundown of his plan, feeling C.C. translate the plan to Shinkiro. The dinosaur snorted and started to push towards the end of the hall. Once they were out of the open area, he and C.C. would have to dismount and continue on foot, but Suzaku could keep going.

Lelouch leaned over Shinkiro’s side, easily finding where Lancelot and Suzaku were continuing to push through. “Sir Kururugi.” Suzaku’s head jerked up, Lancelot’s doing the same before she went back to work. Lelouch ignored the raptor, gesturing towards the hallway. “They’re retreating. Take the command center.”

Lancelot was the one who responded, Lelouch seeing her head bob in a clear yes before taking off towards the corridor. Suzaku was close behind her, Lelouch following their progress from the shouts of the soldiers.

Shinkiro lumbered after them, bumping his nose against the wall before dropping down on all fours. He shot them a significant look over his shoulder, C.C. laughing at a thought that he only meant for her.

Lelouch sighed and slipped off the _Indominus’_ back. He didn’t need C.C. having someone else to conspire with against him. It was bad enough that she and Nunnally seemed to get along so well, he didn’t need someone else teasing him. He had better things to do.

He kept a hold on Shinkiro as he looked up at where C.C. was perched. “You coming?”

C.C. shook her head. “We’ll keep the area clear. Catch up with Suzaku. Just don’t get stuck staring again.”

Lelouch grumbled under his breath for a moment before dismissing her with a wave of his hand. “Circle the docks, don’t let anyone escape.”

She nodded, Shinkiro turning around at the same time. The two of them loped off, Lelouch hearing renewed shouts as the _Indominus_ moved back into the open. The two of them could handle whatever happened outside, but he needed to be in the command center to make sure that the two responsible were apprehended.

He tugged his cape back into place and strode down the hallway, following in the wake of destruction that Suzaku and Lancelot had left behind them.


	11. Flowers

Euphemia raised a hand to shield her eyes as the aircraft landed at the top of the administrative building. She squinted through the dust that was thrown up, hoping to see someone coming out of the craft. It was a silly thought considering that it hadn’t landed properly yet, but she had to be sure that the news she had gotten was right.

Kyushu had been retaken by Cornelia with help from the Black Knights and the people behind the coup taken into custody. While Euphemia was happy to hear about her sister’s victory, she was worried about her knight. Although she couldn’t rightfully call Suzaku her knight anymore.

She closed her hand around the pin, using the familiar shape to ground her. She was almost afraid that the delicate wings would snap off, but she needed to hold it tight for strength. Suzaku had returned it to her once before, and she hadn’t been able to say anything to make him take it back. When she had contacted him on Kyushu she had come so close to telling him what she really wanted, but Suzaku had cut the conversation short.

Of course, she had deviated from the careful script she had gone over in her head while running all over the administrative building to prepare the secure line. She hadn’t meant to tell him to love her, at least not there. Euphemia had hoped she would have been able to slip it into the conversation when Suzaku came back or somewhere else in private. She had hoped that she would have been able to manipulate the conversation like Schneizel could, or imply it the way that Cornelia seemed to be able to with a few words and the right look. Instead, she had just blurted it out and then stumbled on, too afraid to stop speaking in case Suzaku had politely turned her down again.

But he hadn’t. He hadn’t turned her down. He hadn’t died. And he was coming back to her.

Euphemia tried to quell the flutter in her stomach. She didn’t want to be nervous and end up retreating, she had to be firm about this. For once, she had a plan, a wonderful plan that she was sure that Schneizel would approve of. But all of it was useless without Suzaku by her side. The Elevens loved him, probably almost as much as she did.

She smiled, rocking up onto her toes as the engines of the aircraft cycled down. The ramp dropped open a moment later, Euphemia staring intently at it.

Lancelot was the first one out, Euphemia hearing the raptor’s claws skitter on the metal ramp before she was away and running across the garden. The raptor’s gaze flicked over to her once, but she didn’t stray from her course. Euphemia recognized the determination as Suzaku’s. He had probably told Lancelot to give the gardens a quick once over, just in case anyone sympathetic to the coup had come to the administrative building or in case of Black Knights.

Euphemia bit her lip, her shoulders hunching a bit. That was another thing she would have to work to convince Suzaku of. If her plan was to work, then she would need the cooperation of the Black Knights. Since the people clearly trusted them, and the government hadn’t had any luck trying to beat them, it couldn’t be too bad to work with them. Euphemia knew that Zero would come when she called for him, because Lelouch would understand that she wanted to talk to him. Even as Zero, Lelouch would never hurt her.

That was for later, when she could figure out a way to slip a message to Lelouch. If not, she would have to fall back on a grand gesture, one that certainly would attract her sister’s attention. Euphemia didn’t believe that Cornelia would just let her walk into a meeting with a terrorist leader even if he was their sibling.

Lancelot disappeared into the bushes of the hedge maze just as Suzaku stepped down onto the ramp. His head was turned towards his raptor, the two of them probably talking together.

The conference didn’t last long, Suzaku turning his attention to her as he walked down the ramp. Euphemia wasn’t sure if she imagined the hesitation in his step or if he was just tired. He had spent most of the night running through the military compound on Kyushu, fighting alongside Lancelot and then Zero and his _Indominus_. Euphemia wasn’t sure if he had been allowed to rest after they had dismantled the building’s defenses. Suzaku had probably helped with the cleanup operation, meaning he hadn’t slept since the night before.

Part of her wanted to send him right off to bed. Her knight or not, Euphemia still outranked him. If he was reluctant, she could teasingly offer it as an order, which might work but delay the talk she needed to have with him. She tightened her hold on the pin, quickly making up her mind.

She had to act before she lost the nerve.

Euphemia swallowed and stepped forward to cover the distance between her and Suzaku. She saw a definite hesitation in his step, Suzaku pausing before walking over to her.

He slipped easily into a bow, Euphemia too slow to haul him up from it. She didn’t want him kneeling to a superior. She wanted them to be equals for just a moment.

“Sub-viceroy-”

“Euphy.”

She saw his shoulders tense. Suzaku glanced up at her before lowering his gaze to the ground. “Sub-viceroy, I’ve come to deliver the news of our victory. Kyushu is yours again.”

“Kyushu is my sister’s. I’m more of a figurehead.” Euphemia stared at the top of his head before sighing and taking a step backwards. Suzaku looked up abruptly, looking like he was going to speak. Euphemia stopped him by holding out her hand, the one not holding the pin. “Suzaku.”

He stared at her hand before tentatively reaching out for it. His fingers closed around hers, Euphemia smiling down at him as she pulled on his arm.

Suzaku rose to his feet. He tried to pull his hand away but Euphemia wouldn’t let him. If she let him back away now, then they would continue to dance around each other. No amount of announcements made over secure lines would fix anything, not unless things were said when one of them wasn’t in danger of dying.

“Princess…”

“I meant what I said to you, it wasn’t just the heat of the moment.”

“But it was impulsive.”

Euphemia smiled at that. “I thought you loved that about me.”

“I do.”

“Then will you help me?” Suzaku pulled his hand out of hers, Euphemia curling her fingers slightly. She quickly offered him her other hand, Suzaku retreating again. She followed this time, holding the pin out to him. “Suzaku, please?”

“Euphy, I…” He looked like he wanted to take the pin, but he held himself back.

She shook her head and stretched out her hand further. “I want to help you make up for what you did to your father.” From the way that he flinched, it as a bad idea to push the subject, but she couldn’t just let it sit. It was the reason that Suzaku had stepped down. “You said you didn’t deserve the post, so I’m going to give you a chance to earn it. If that will help you, then I’ll let you do it. Just tell me what you need to do because…” She blushed and looked down at the ground. “I really did mean it.”

Suzaku stared at the pin in her hand before shaking his head. She almost jerked her hand back, but she kept herself steady. There were other speeches that she had thought up, the ones that she had rejected almost immediately or had only worked halfway through before going back to the one bid she had hoped would get to Suzaku.

She was scrambling to put together something that would convince him when Suzaku reached out and gently took the pin from her. Euphemia almost held her breath as Suzaku stared at the pin in his hand. He chuckled, Euphemia relieved that he smiled at her. “You’re too good, Euphy.”

“I’m not.” She blushed, tugging at the end of her jacket. “But maybe you could help me be. And I could help you. What you did to your father….we can make up for it. If you’d let me, I can help.”

Suzaku went silent, Euphemia looking away as she let him think.

She had thought the announcement would go better, that Suzaku would just agree to take his knighthood back after hearing what she had to say over the secure channel. Maybe she would have to talk him further, but there had never been any hesitation. After he had performed well at Kyushu any doubts of his insubordination should have been wiped away.

There was movement out in the garden, Euphemia watching as Lancelot walked out of the garden and into the open. The raptor crouched for a moment, looking between the two of them before giving herself a rough shake. The raptor settled herself on the ground, Euphemia watching as Lancelot rested her head on the ground and closed her eyes.

She wasn’t sure if Lancelot was sleeping or just faking it, although Euphemia wouldn’t blame the raptor for being exhausted. Even if Lancelot wasn’t sleeping, the raptor wouldn’t bother to lie down if she wasn’t sure that the area was secure, not that it wouldn’t be. Cornelia had had her raptors sweeping the administrative building since they had gotten back from the Kyushu operation. Her sister hadn’t trusted the Black Knights to stay away, thinking their help was just a stunt to lull her into a false sense of security.

Euphemia looked back at Suzaku. He wasn’t looking at the pin anymore, but he was staring off into space with a look of concentration on his face. It was a familiar look, one that she was more used to seeing on Cornelia’s face.

“What does Lancelot say?”

Suzaku started, staring at her for a moment and blinking rapidly. It took him a moment to realize that she was there, Suzaku offering her a shaky smile.

He reached up to pull out the comm unit out of his ear, almost seeming surprised that it was still there. He curled his fingers around it, and tucked it behind him. “She doesn’t really have an opinion.”

“That’s not like her.”

Suzaku raised one shoulder in a shrug. “There’s a few things she doesn’t quite understand, human things. It’s my choice.”

“And?”

She watched him fiddle with the comm unit before he stopped himself. He smiled up at her, reaching out to hold her hand. Euphemia felt the press of the pin against her hand.

For a moment, she thought that Suzaku was refusing her again. Then he smiled at her, and it was all the answer that she needed.


	12. Consume

Suzaku hung up the phone, closing his fingers around it. He thought he felt the casing give, but Suzaku didn’t care. He set the phone down carefully on the table. It would be going with the rest of Euphemia’s belongings, back to Britannia. Far away from him.

He stumbled as he stepped forward, catching himself against the wall. He leaned heavily against it, trying to keep his breathing slow and steady. He couldn’t lose it now, not when the Black Knights were pushing in on the Tokyo Settlement. Euphemia’s dreams might have gone up in smoke when the Special Administrative Zone failed, but that didn’t mean that everything was worthless. There were still people to look after, people that didn’t need to die because of what Zero was doing.

Suzaku pushed himself away from the wall, walking slowly out into the hallway. He took a deep breath as soon as he was out of the room, looking down the deserted hallway.

He could feel Lancelot pulling at the link, calling for her attention. It was almost too easy for him to slide into her mind, to sink into her anger and goad it with his own. Suzaku was sure she was doing the same to him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He couldn’t seem to cry anymore, not after he had been told what had really killed Euphemia. Not after he had been told how she had been twisted to act against her will. He couldn’t imagine what had been going through her mind, watching herself kill the people she had wanted to protect. The people that she had asked him to help her protect.

He had failed her on two counts, to protect the people and to protect her. Suzaku was not about to let his duty escape him again.

Suzaku sunk deeper into Lancelot’s mind, letting her grief wash over him. He didn’t try to stop her, not when she was just mourning Euphemia just as much as he was.

Images flashed through his head; flowers, open space, pink, things that Lancelot had associated with Euphemia. They just served to make the ache in his heart grow, Suzaku closing his eyes to take a deep breath.

Lancelot didn’t stop there, screeching into his mind. _Pack, she was pack! Revenge! Kill!_

Suzaku was sure that half of those concepts weren’t her own, they were pulled from his own mind. But it was getting harder to find the divide between them. Sinking into her mind wasn’t an escape, Lancelot was hurting just as much as he was, but it was a safer place to be than his own head.

He found himself nodding as he walked down to where Lancelot was kept penned. _Yes. We’ll do that. For her._

 _For Euphy!_ She crowed the words, Suzaku close enough to hear her as she screeched.

Suzaku ignored the people that were rushing from the raptor pen area, sure that they were trying to get out of the way in case Lancelot got worse. He could hear the nervous sounds from the other raptors, all of them unsettled because of Lancelot. Somewhere in the back of his head he knew he should calm her down. It was dangerous to let her get so riled up. She would be harder to control if he didn’t snap her out of it, but he needed that rage.

_Hunt!_

_Yes. Hunt for Zero._

“Suzaku!” He jumped as Cecile called his name, looking up as she shook his shoulder. From the look on her face, she had been called him for a while.

She crouched down to look into his eyes, Suzaku jerking his gaze away. There was nothing that she could see there. Suzaku kept avoiding her gaze, flinching when Cecile squeezed his shoulder. “You’re in no condition to go out there.”

Suzaku took a step back, rolling his shoulder to get out of her grip. From across the room, Lancelot hissed and threw herself against the front of her pen. The whole makeshift affair rattled, Suzaku feeling a sharp pain in his shoulder. He reached up to rub at it, watching as Cecile looked between him and the raptor pen.

“Suzaku?”

He was slow to answer again, drawing his gaze away from where he was studying the doors of the pen. He was caught in the act of trying to figure out if he could pull the locks open with their claws. There was certainly a way, they had seen others open the doors. With the two of them, they should be able to see it.

“Lloyd, shut it off! She’s got Suzaku!”

They saw Lloyd move out of the corner of their eye, Suzaku turning in time to see Lloyd slap a button on the console. He wasn’t sure which one of them screamed, although he was sure that it was the both of them. There was a small shock as the comm unit tried to break the link, Suzaku reaching up to claw it out of his ear, shaking his head when it fell on the ground.

He felt Cecile reach for him, letting her grab onto him. Suzaku felt her shaking him, going limp with the motion. He let his head roll as he stared over at the pen.

It was strange to be alone in his head so suddenly, he was used to having Lancelot there, even if she was in the back of his mind. Worse still, he was left without her anger, there was just his own and that didn’t seem enough for what he had felt for Euphemia.

Lancelot keened from inside her pen, her claws scraping about metal. He reached out for her automatically, sure that he wouldn’t be able to reach her. Without the comm unit, he wouldn’t be able to activate the link.

He scraped against nothing, gasping when he suddenly felt something catch. He scrambled for a better hold on the link, clawing at it in the hopes that it wouldn’t get away from him. He felt Lancelot dig in as well, wrapping herself around him.

_Mine!_

Suzaku jerked back from Cecile, turning and running for the pen. He heard Cecile shout, but he couldn’t make out the words, he was too focused on getting to the pen and opening the door. He needed Lancelot, he needed her to help him kill Zero. He needed her to help him avenge Euphemia.

Lloyd stepped in front of him, raising his hands and smirking. Suzaku gritted his teeth, throwing a punch directly at Lloyd’s face.

The man stumbled backwards, Suzaku slipping around him to grab at the keypad at the front of the pen. He fumbled with the code, hearing Lancelot throw herself at the doors a few more times before she stepped back. Suzaku gritted his teeth, slamming his palm against the reader.

The door beeped and started to inch open, but Lancelot didn’t wait for it. She scraped through the door, Suzaku feeling his sides’ burn from the contact.

Lancelot skittered to a stop, her mouth open as she hissed as Cecile and Lloyd. Suzaku felt his stomach lurch as she started at them. He turned to stand by her, pulling at her mind. _No, not them._

She tipped her head before moving her head up and down in a very human move. Suzaku heard Lloyd and Cecile gasp, but he didn’t bother to look at them. He just stepped forward to run his fingers along Lancelot’s jaw.  She turned to look at him, crooning softly as she pressed their connection tighter.

Suzaku sucked in a quick breath, welcoming the return of the rage and sorrow. It was easier when there was someone to share with, someone that understood. He ran a hand over the top of her head, settling the feathers on her head. _We promised to help her protect them, remember?_

Lancelot nodded again, turning her head so she could look at him with one eye. _I remember._

Suzaku hugged to head close before letting go. She bumped against him before going to the exit ramp.

He let her go ahead of him, turning to look back at Lloyd and Cecile. He couldn’t tell what Lloyd was thinking, but Cecile had a look of shock and horror on her face. “We’re going out there.”

Lloyd sighed. “I don’t suppose we could talk you out of it?”

Lancelot turned her head to look at the three of them. _No._

Suzaku wasn’t sure if he actually spoke her answer out loud. He turned on his heel and walked over to the exit ramp, running his hand over Lancelot’s back.

She easily fell into step beside him, her head jerking around as she tried to keep track of what was going on in the city before them. Lancelot threw bits of information at them, Suzaku barely processing them. She was just keeping him in the loop, pulling the two of them tighter as they started to feed off each other’s senses.

_Ready for the hunt?_

Lancelot opened her mouth, her version of a smile. _We’ll avenge Euphemia. Kill Zero._

Suzaku reached down for his sword, vaguely surprised that he still wore it. If it was still there, then the rest of his bloodstained uniform was still on. He reached for the gun that was in its holster under his jacket, nodding when he found it.

_Have your claws?_ Suzaku sent her an affirmative, earning an excited burble.

Lancelot broke into a run, one that Suzaku could easily keep up with. He let her senses guide him through the tangle of the battle scarred city, Lancelot panting with excitement. Suzaku kept silent, letting her thoughts rush over him as they wound their way deeper into the Tokyo Settlement.

_Come. Tonight we become death._


	13. Hollow

Kallen watched as the large bulk of Shinkiro crossed the shoreline in front of her. The _Indominus_ ’ nose was nearly pressed against the sand as it sniffed along the shore. Kallen expected it to make a furrow with the way it was searching the beach.

She guessed that Shinkiro had been told to seek out Zero, just like the other raptors. Guren was rooting halfheartedly in the undergrowth behind her. Kallen glanced over her shoulder, watching as Guren scratched at the ground before wandering off.

He sent a quick inquiry her way, Kallen shaking her head and waving him on. She didn’t care what he did, just as long as he looked like he was busy searching. Urabe wouldn’t question the two of them if they looked like they were busy. He might not even get to them for a while.

Kallen turned her head to look at where Urabe was standing with C.C. The woman was still shivering from when they had pulled her out of the ocean. Urabe had been the one to spot her clinging to the wreckage of an aircraft and organize her rescue while the raptors had spread out. Kallen was sure that he was questioning her about what had happened to Zero, but he wouldn’t get an answer. C.C. hadn’t been there. She hadn’t seen who Zero really was.

Or maybe that didn’t matter because she had already known. C.C. and Zero had always been close, and the woman had acted as a decoy for him before.

Kallen felt her stomach twist, not sure if it was anger or jealousy. Lelouch had trusted C.C. above the rest of them, his loyal followers who had fought and died for him. He had _abandoned_ them.

She clenched her hands into fists, Guren jerking his head up to hiss as her anger bled into him. Kallen didn’t bother to try and stop him as he stepped out of the undergrowth, but she did pull him up when he started after Shinkiro. Guren stopped dead, quivering as he glared at the _Indominus_. Her raptor couldn’t take on Shinkiro, and Kallen was sure that the others would turn against them. It wouldn’t be their fault, because they didn’t know.

_Go back._

Guren hissed but when back to shuffling through the trees. Kallen rubbed at her arms, looking around at the rest of the raptors.

They were making no progress, not that Kallen was surprised. She didn’t think that Suzaku would have kept Lelouch on the island, not with the way he had been pointing the gun at Lelouch as Lancelot had held still on the sidelines. She didn’t even know if Lelouch was still alive, she had run out of the cave to find Guren. She hadn’t been thinking more clearly than to get away from Lelouch, get away from the leader that she had admired and who had lied to her from the start.

On the beach, Shinkiro growled, Kallen recognizing the sound as one of frustration. The other raptors were quick to call out to each other, marking out their positions. Guren raised himself up slightly, stopping to look at her. Kallen sighed and walked away, leaving Guren to drop back to his work.

She wandered aimlessly over the beach, purposely keeping far away from the cave. She needed to move, but she didn’t want to go back there. Kallen had heard the others exclaiming about what they had found. She didn’t want to see the two halves of Zero’s mask or the bomb that had been his last ditch effort and keeping Suzaku away. Kallen didn’t want to remind herself of what she had seen until she could work it out for herself.

Lelouch was a Britannian, a schoolboy. He had been sympathetic to her and the others, but sometimes he would say something that made her want to punch him in the face. It was hard to piece together the bored schoolboy and their charismatic leader. She kept thinking that she couldn’t be right, that she had imagined it all. But she could still see his mocking smile and the way that he had laughed at her shock.

Kallen came to an abrupt stop, clenching her hands into fists. She could feel them shaking, but she didn’t know what else to do. She was angry and there was no one to lash out at. They had lost their rebellion, the Black Knights that had come with Urabe to the island were the only ones left. They had lost their one chance at their free Japan, and it was all Lelouch’s fault.

She looked up, looking for Urabe. She couldn’t withhold the truth from him any longer. If they were the last ones, then they needed to figure out what they could do next. Lelouch might have tricked them all, but she was not about to give up on Naoto’s dream.

Kallen turned her head, intending to look for Urabe. She jumped when she realized that C.C. had snuck up on her.

The woman stared at her for a long moment before reaching back to wring out her hair.  “You were here.”

It wasn’t a question, but Kallen nodded anyway. She lifted her chin a bit, trying to figure out what C.C. was driving at. “Ohgi ordered me to look after Zero.”

“So you would know where he went.”

Kallen glanced over to where Shinkiro stood on the beach. The _Indominus_ had stopped moving, but it wasn’t doing anything threatening. She couldn’t stop herself from looking over to where Guren was slipping through the trees, the raptor coming to be closer to her.

C.C. must have seen him moving, because she laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “So you do know what happened to him.” She tipped her head to the side, studying her for a moment before smiling. “And you saw it all. Tell me, how does it feel to finally know who was behind Zero’s mask?”

Kallen held C.C’s gaze for a moment before looking away. She had wanted to know that answer in the beginning, back when she hadn’t been able to trust the stranger who had offered them the world. The burning need had disappeared with every battle and miracle, but it hadn’t gone away completely. Some part of her had wanted to know who Zero was all the time, but it had been easy to ignore it, because the man hadn’t mattered, it was the results.

Now that she did know, she should feel better, because the man behind the mask had ceased to matter. But it didn’t. Knowing it was Lelouch didn’t make things better or worse. In the end, she didn’t feel anything.


	14. Memories

Julius leaned back in his seat, breathing carefully though clenched teeth.

It was coming back again, the hallucinations and the pounding headaches. He reached up to rub at his temples, his hand straying towards his eyepatch. Julius pulled his fingers back before they could touch the tender skin. It made him wish that he was back at his manor, where he could go without his eyepatch. He hated the constant irritation of his skin.

He dropped his hand back to the armrest, closing his good eye. There was only one thing to do when the headaches came. At least he was alone this time, Julius didn’t think that he could live up to the humiliation if he collapsed in front of people. It had been bad enough when he had had one of his fits in front of the emperor. Julius could only be glad that his skills outweighed his potential uselessness. He couldn’t think of anyone who would be able to win the war, aside from Prince Schneizel, but the prince was already deployed in peace talks. The emperor needed someone to react immediately if the EU refused any of Prince Schneizel’s terms.

What he didn’t need was a military strategist who wouldn’t stand because of some unknown disease. If the emperor hadn’t asked for him personally, Julius would have worried that the emperor would have been displeased with him.

Julius reached out for the call button, cursing when his arm knocked over the jug of water. He leaned further out, straining to reach the button. He just needed to call Sir Kururugi in with his medicine before it got too bad.

His fingers skittered over the button without enough pressure to depress it. Julius growled under his breath, slumping back in his seat and panting for breath. He would try again in a moment, after he gathered his strength back. Julius closed his eyes, trying to calm the rising headache.

For a moment, his headache was actually roaring. The sound echoed in his head like the military dinosaurs that were in the back few cars of the train. It scaled up from the shrill raptor screeches to the clarion roar of the _Indominus rex_. Julius shook his head, trying to chase it away. Instead, he was left with the sound of a single _Indominus_.

The sound was hauntingly familiar, which didn’t make sense. He had never been allowed near the larger dinosaurs and he had only watched the raptors in the field. There was no reason she should have been able to pick out one roar. He was a man of tactics, not one of those that pushed their minds into those of animals.

He slid further down the couch, clutching at his head. The roar wasn’t going away, more was coming in now. Julius wished that the headache would come on in full force; he preferred it to the hallucinations. He clawed at the side of his head, trying to get the thing out of his head.

_It was unfamiliar and too much. His mind worked simply, there was prey and he hunted it. He didn’t need complex steps to get there. He was bigger and better than anything out there. Anything that tried to get him he could rip to shreds._

“No!”

 _Hunt!_   The thing in his head crowed the word, throwing in the image of a masked man. Julius shook his head and the image was thrust at him again. _Come hunt._

“No. I’m not him. He’s a traitor.”

_Hunt!_

Julius shook his head again, the motion making his head pound more. He wasn’t Zero, he didn’t have a dinosaur under his control. A connection must have gone wrong, because he wasn’t that man. “Leave me alone.”

He got a grumble in response, the sound a hint that the creature hadn’t given up. Julius was glad that his mind gave out first.

The connection collapsed, Julius going limp on the couch as his headache swept over him. The headache made his vision blur, Julius peering blearily around the room. He couldn’t remember where he was. There was something about a hot summer and the smell of blood. Julius felt something stir at the thought of blood. It turned his stomach at the same time it interested him.

Julius choked on his next breath, glancing at the things around him in the hope of seeing a clue, but it was hard with the way that his head ached and the way that the sun beat down on his back. Julius coughed, his throat rasping. He dragged himself forward; he may be hot, but he had to keep going. He struggled forward, yelping as the ground suddenly gave out from under him.

He tried to catch himself but fell on onto a lower patch of ground. Julius dug his fingers into the grass, looking around frantically. He couldn’t see anything and all he could smell was blood. There was something that he was looking for. Someone he was looking for. Julius opened his mouth to call for them when he felt the slight vibrations of someone walking towards him. He lifted his head and smiled at the familiar shape, reaching out to it.

“S-Suzaku…please…” He licked his lips, dragging himself forward. “So hot. Please…water…”

Suzaku hesitated in the doorway, Julius’ vision still too blurred to see his expression. Julius reached for him only for Suzaku to turn and stride out of the room. He opened his mouth to shout for Suzaku to come back, but his throat was too dry. He could only watch as Suzaku walked away into the haze.

Julius dragged himself a few inches further before collapsing on the floor, breathing heavily. It was too far and he was too tired. He let his eyes fall shut, giving in as the headache rolled over him. It was a relief when he finally slipped into unconsciousness.


	15. Reflection

“It’s brilliant.”

Suzaku reacted before he could really think about what he was doing. He pulled the trigger, feeling the gun buck in his hand. He felt a strange sense of glee as the heard the sound of the gun going off, not sure if it was from him or Lancelot. He had spent so much time in the raptor’s head that it was getting hard to figure out what were her thoughts or his own. Suzaku was beginning to suspect that there wasn’t much difference between the two of them.

He saw a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye, Suzaku pivoting just in time to see a raptor jump between Shin and the bullet. The bullet pinged off the red and silver armor that the raptor wore, the animal stumbling a bit under the impact before rocking back into a balanced position. Suzaku dropped the gun as the door was flung open, turning so he could watch Jean Lowe walk in.

She glared at him, coming to stand beside her raptor. Jean reached out to touch the tail of her raptor, lifting a gun to point at him. “He’s attacked Lord Shaing. Protect your commander.”

There was a screech from the open door, Suzaku watching as five more raptors rushed in, only two of them accompanied by their humans. The other three would be hidden in another room, kept safe from anything that would happen in battle. Those three would be more tightly bound to their raptors, controlling the animal’s every move. Suzaku watched the raptors, trying to pick out which three were controlled completely. If he could kill the three raptors, the shock would be sure to incapacitate the humans. If he was lucky then they would die too.

Suzaku shook his head at the thought, almost completely sure that it was Lancelot’s. He was almost distracted enough to miss the quick jerk that Jean made towards the gun. The curse that Lelouch had put on him didn’t, Suzaku feeling the sudden rush of alertness as it activated.

_Suzaku!_

He felt Lancelot coming towards him even as he moved out of the way of the bullet.

Suzaku grunted as he hit the ground, fumbling for the gun. His fingers skimmed over it, Suzaku not able to get a hold before he was brought out of his roll. He cursed under his breath, scrambling to his feet.

He was close to one of the humans, Suzaku elbowing him in the stomach. The man grunted and went down, Suzaku jerking backwards as the man’s raptor rushed forward.

The raptor never made contact with him, a streak of white and gold barreling into it. The two raptors tumbled onto the floor, Lancelot coming out on top with her jaws around the other raptor’s neck. She shook her head, Suzaku hearing something snap before the raptor went limp. The man screamed and stumbled backwards, shaking his head. Suzaku took the chance to tackle him to the ground and snatch up the man’s gun.

Suzaku rolled to his feet, backing up until he felt the familiar bulk of Lancelot against his back. His raptor swayed into him, shooting him a brief image of the raptors that she was aiming for before darting off to the side.

He pivoted with her, firing at the people as they moved to defend their raptors. He just missed Jean, barely twisting himself out of the way as her raptor lunged for him. He reached out and slammed his pistol into the side of the raptor’s head. It didn’t do much with the armor, but the raptor stumbled out of his way.

Suzaku stepped through the move, turning to fire at one of the raptors that had lunged for him. The raptor tipped to the side, crashing to the floor. Suzaku stepped carefully around the raptor, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the blood leaking out through the helmet.

He reached into his pocket, using the brief lull to slide the comm over his ear. He didn’t bother to slip down the small screen, he could see what Lancelot was doing without a problem. He barely needed the Yggdrasil system to talk to her anymore.  Even without the system he could feel her as she moved around her pen. Even now he was getting bursts of her thoughts, automatically shuffling them to the side. Lancelot could take care of herself.

Suzaku turned to face Jean, his eyes widening as he saw her take aim at Lelouch. He jerked his head towards where the man was shaking on the floor. _Lancelot._

She hopped away from the raptor that was trying to find a gap in her armor, hissing when she easily dodged around it. Lancelot hissed back before lunging in front of Lelouch.

“Shield!”

Green light flared around her, Suzaku listening as the bullets pinged off. That was Lelouch taken care of for the moment, although there was no sense of relief that followed. The emperor might want his wayward son back, but Suzaku wanted nothing more to do with him. He wanted to complete the mission and then focus on his own. But he couldn’t do that if the Knights of St. Michael kept trying to kill Lelouch.

He growled under his breath, the sound a habit picked up from his raptor. What they needed was distance and space to move.

Suzaku took a step backward, eyeing the door to the next room. He had swept the entire place with Lancelot earlier, but he couldn’t remember what was in that room. It would have to do, anything to keep them from shooting at Lelouch.

 _We’re moving_. Suzaku sent her a mental image of the door before taking off for it himself. He felt her agreement, but he didn’t pay too much attention to it, not when the raptors were reacting just like he thought they would.

They immediately took off after the moving object, Suzaku hearing their armor click as they moved to follow his sharp turns.

He didn’t check over his shoulder, focusing on the doors ahead of him. Two bullets zipped past, only one coming close enough to activate the geass that had been put on him. Suzaku absently marked where they hit the door a second before he threw himself at it. For a moment, he was afraid that the door had been locked, but the heavy wooden door creaked slowly inward.

Suzaku ducked his head, feeling a rush of air as something jumped over him. He glanced up to see one of the four raptors left land and slide to the end of the room. It screamed as it barreled into the wall, Suzaku wincing at the sound of something snapping. The raptor still got up, limping a little as its armor started to slough off. Suzaku didn’t hesitate in raising his gun and shooting at its unprotected chest as he ran through the door.

The raptor went down with a gurgle, Suzaku glancing over to see one of its legs twitch before it went completely still. He spun so he was facing the door, backing away as the three raptors started edging in.

One jerked upright as soon as it entered the room, turning back with the scream. Suzaku glanced at where it was looking in time to see Lancelot kick up into the one remaining human’s stomach. The human jerked and fell to the floor, abandoning his hold on the gun to try and scoop his insides back in. Lancelot stepped back, flicking her foot to get the blood off the green claw sheath that she wore. Suzaku saw Lelouch flinch from where he was kneeling, his head jerking down.

Lancelot didn’t stay to gloat over her kill, bouncing a bit over the carpet as she took off at a flat run. Suzaku didn’t get the chance to warn her about the change of footing before she jumped on the raptor that had turned for its human, clamping her claws down so the raptor stayed under her. The two of them went skittering across the floor, Lancelot jumping off before the raptor lost momentum.

The raptor stayed in a crumpled heap on the floor, Lancelot circling it once before turning to bob her head at Suzaku. The reassurance was quick before she was focusing on the last two.

The last unaccompanied raptor, Jean and her raptor were being cautious as they entered the room.

Suzaku edged closer to the wall, wanting to cover at least one of his sides as he watched the three of them. He felt stupid for not wearing his body armor, but he had thought that Lelouch was just inviting Lord Shaing to a chess game. He hadn’t expected one of Lelouch’s fits.

He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the flicker of the geass as it alerted him to every move that the three were going to make. He didn’t need the distraction, not when he could feel Lancelot riding the high of the successful hunt. If he let her, she would charge in and rip into the people. She might even push through the entire palace, pushed by the geass and the thrill of the hunt. As it was, it was hard to tug her attention back towards the remaining enemies, especially when there was food waiting on the floor in the next room.

Suzaku felt his stomach turn at the brief image of Lancelot pushing her snout into the man’s guts, giving her a light mental slap. _No!_

He saw her jerk, getting a flash of apology before she was focused again. It didn’t stop him from feeling the way her stomach felt, empty because she hadn’t been fed recently. She had been kept on half rations so she would be sharp, not weighed down but a full meal. Suzaku could see the reason for that order, but he would have to watch his raptor carefully. They always got fractious when they weren’t full.

One of the raptors jerked forward, taking a few running steps before stopping. Suzaku watched as it swayed in place, testing the footing before it lunged forward. Suzaku planted himself, one hand reaching up for the clasps of his jacket. If he had to, he would use it to blind the raptor so he could get a good shot off. He could at least tangle its feet to make the fighting fair for Lancelot.

He flipped the last button undone just as Lancelot screamed, not bothering to try to form a warning. Suzaku knew that that noise was well enough.

Jean’s raptor had used his distraction to charge at him, covering the short distance between them before Lancelot could. And Suzaku was only half turned towards her.

His eyes widened, Suzaku feeling the familiar comfort of knowing he was going to die. He only got a moment to glory in it before he was forced out of it, his world narrowing to the two raptors coming at him before it became nothing.

Suzaku was aware of his muscles moving, but only because he could sense it from Lancelot. And the raptor she was…

… _running, following the pull on her. The one that would take over his mind and then hers. The one that took the tiny little grain of knowledge in the back of her head and pushed it faster, louder._

_Live. **Live. LIVE!**_

Suzaku came back to himself at the sound of someone laughing, looking up at where Lord Shaing was standing over Lelouch. He froze, his eyes widening as he saw the gun that Lord Shaing held in his hand. It wasn’t pointed at Lelouch, but Suzaku was willing to bet that it would be aimed at Lelouch as soon as Lord Shaing was sure of his attention.

To his surprise, the man tucked the gun away with a grin. “There’s certainly a darkness in you, Sir Kururugi. Same as the one in me.”

Lord Shaing bowed before walking out of the room, leaving Suzaku to stare at where Lelouch was sprawled out on the ground. He couldn’t tell if Lelouch was still alive because of the blood splattered on the carpet. He swallowed and looked down, starting when he saw Jean Lowe flat on her back, his gun pressed to her head.

He turned his head, blinking quickly when he saw Lancelot with her jaws around Jean’s raptor’s neck. Lancelot was still growling, her claws anchored in gaps in the armor like she was ready to tear it all off. Suzaku thought he saw a bit of red flashing in her eyes, but it was gone before he could think too much of it. Suzaku felt her attention flick to him, Lancelot tipping her head to the side.

There was a question there, although she didn’t seem too surprised to be holding another raptor down. Suzaku shook his head, straightening up and stepping back. Lancelot grumbled in his mind, but let the raptor go.

The raptor slumped on the floor, making soft noises as it stared over at Jean.  Its pilot didn’t seem to be paying much attention to her raptor; she was too busy glaring at Suzaku. “Damn you, you and that white demon.”

Lancelot hissed, taking a step forward as the words were translated to her. Jean didn’t look too impressed. She stood up and flicked the comm unit out of her ear. She glared at the two of them before standing up and walking out of the room. Her raptor twitched on the ground, rolling around before hauling itself up to its feet. It looked confused for a moment before trotting off, probably following the command that was being broadcast through the camera unit that it was wearing.

Lancelot huffed as it trotted off, throwing Suzaku a quick look. _They’ll cause trouble._

_There’s nothing we can do about it._

_We could stop it now._ She snapped her jaws shut, purposefully watching Suzaku.

He shook his head. _We can’t. We’re not allowed._

Lancelot snorted, starting back out to the main area. She didn’t quite get the concept of allowed, especially when it came to fighting. In her mind, it was easier to end a threat instead of following the strange human conventions. At least she listened, unlike some of the raptors that had to be physically pulled away from a fight, hence the recall signal.

Suzaku sighed and rubbed his shoulder, following after her. She barely glanced at Lelouch, instead she was examining the door. Suzaku saw her feathers fluff up, probably because she was watching Jean’s raptor return to its pen. He shook his head and went back over to Lelouch, crouching down to check if he was still alive.

He barely got the time to check for a pulse before Lancelot padded back over, her head cocked to the side.

 _Not even him._ There was something brewing in her thoughts, Suzaku not quite sure about what she was thinking. He thought it was something like betrayal, still sharp and sore. It was almost enough to be his own, but there were elements to it that he even couldn’t understand.

While he hesitated, Lancelot inched closer to Lelouch, Suzaku watching her mouth drop open. For a moment, he was tempted to just let her do it. The emperor had ordered Zero to be executed and, technically, Zero was still alive. His fingers twitched, Suzaku watching as Lancelot’s claws copied the motion. She took a slow step forward, Suzaku leaning in with her before he shook his head.

_No. We have our orders._

Lancelot hissed but took a step backwards. Allowed was a concept that slipped past her, but orders was something that she understood well. There were still moments when Lancelot was confused by the way that humans arranged themselves, but she understood that the emperor was in charge of all of them. If the emperor wanted Lelouch alive, then she would listen to that. Suzaku was sure that she would gleefully carry out the order to kill Lelouch if it ever came in. How he would feel was still up in the air.

He gestured towards the door, Lancelot jerking her head to the side at the sharp motion. _Scout ahead. Something is up._

Her lip twitched, the reaction more to the idea that Lord Shaing was going behind their backs than for his order. Lancelot shook herself and trotted down the hall. She kept close to his mind, Suzaku sighing and flicking down the screen on his comm unit. The screen flickered for a moment before it started displaying the feed from the camera that was attached to Lancelot’s helmet. Suzaku kept an eye on the feed as he moved over to Lelouch.

He knelt by Lelouch, shaking the man. Lelouch whimpered but didn’t move, Suzaku huffing and glancing out towards the dark hallway. He didn’t bother to hesitate too much over what he would have to do, just ducking so he could haul Lelouch over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. The man flopped limply over his shoulder, Suzaku adjusting him quickly before starting after Lancelot. With the raptor acting as point, they should be able to make it out of the palace before Lord Shaing made his move.


	16. Torture

She was in pain, he could feel it. Every shift she made to get away from skin rubbed raw on ropes just pushed against more raw spots or open wounds they hadn’t bothered to bandage. She couldn’t even move back and forth to try and ease the pressure, she was tied to different eye hooks in the walls, held in a single place with sheathes over her killing claws, a hood over her head and a muzzle to keep her mouth shut. It didn’t keep her from whimpering and making weak calls for help, the sound echoing in the close confines of the prison block.

Suzaku pulled his knees closer to him, shutting his eyes as he tried to drown out the pain that was flooding through their link. He could feel the ropes like they were digging into his skin instead of hers, wrapped so tight that he could hardly stand them.

A mental and vocal cry of fear made him open his eyes, Suzaku swallowing and forcing himself to keep them open. Lancelot couldn’t see where she was, and she could barely hear. She didn’t even know where he was in relation to her, only that they were still in the hearing range of a human and where their bond could still allow a constant flow of information between the two of them.

He winced when Lancelot shifted again, feeling pain jolt up his right side. It ran along his scar from Shinjuku and through a gash that Lancelot had gotten trying to fight through the Euro-Britannian raptors that had come after them. Suzaku didn’t know how many he had managed to shoot, raptor and human before they had overwhelmed them. All he could do was count the wounds on Lancelot’s body over and over again as she tried to stand.

Another shift had the rope digging deeper into the wound. Suzaku swallowed and curled his fingers into the fabric of his pants, stuck listening to Lancelot wail as she tried to move away from the pain.

_Suzaku!_

_I’m here. Right here. I’m not leaving._ He could feel her clawing at the link, frantically trying to use and catalogue what little his senses could take in. From the frustration she felt, it wasn’t making much sense to her.

Suzaku tried to soothe her, scanning carefully over the cell to give her a good picture of where they were. Instead of calming her down, it just frustrated her more. Suzaku heard a muffled roar at the same time she screamed in his head.

_Where are we?! I can’t see!_

_I know._

_I need to see!_

_Use my eyes._

_Where are you?!_ It wasn’t a demand. The words were shot through with fear, which made it worse. She could see where he was sitting, obviously alive and well, but she couldn’t see him. She couldn’t see anything around where she was, nor could she hear. She was trapped in the dark with only his weak senses to use, and he couldn’t even tell if she would be alright.

Suzaku let his head rock forward, feeling every muscle in his back protest. He had lost track of the time he had spent sitting on the floor, but it must have been hours. They had been dragged down to the prison block and thrown in the cell while Lancelot was being tied up. Suzaku had spent that time curled in a ball on the floor, trying to push through her pain and fear to keep her sane. He didn’t know what would happen if his raptor lost it, but he didn’t want to find out. As it was, he was barely hanging onto his own sanity.

The corner of the cell he had dragged himself into was the only one with a good view of the entire cell, something that Lancelot desperately needed on her frantic checks to see if he was alright. It wasn’t comfortable and Suzaku could feel himself drooping.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept well. It was difficult to sleep soundly when he was supposed to be acting as a guard for Lelouch, waiting for the next moment he snapped. He had gotten used to being able to keep Lancelot close to him, the situation in Area 11 had forced that on him. He was used to being able to walk down to her pen and curl up with her when things got bad, not sleep ten minutes away from her. He had gotten by on snatching a few hours of sleep before following Lelouch around, but it was starting to wear on him.

And he couldn’t sleep yet, not when Lancelot starting to panic whenever he closed his eyes. Suzaku could only imagine what would happen if he finally did fall asleep. He shivered at the thought of Lancelot struggling against the ropes that held her in place, forcing them deeper into her until she bled out.

He shook his head, pushing the images away before she could see them. He couldn’t let that happen, not when he was sure that Lancelot would be their only way out, if they got out. It was more likely that they would be killed.

Suzaku flicked his gaze over to where Lelouch was sitting, the man calmly muttering to himself as he stared at the bars to their cell.

At least that would solve many of their problems. Zero – Lelouch – should have been killed instead of being put under a geass and sent away. It was obvious that the geass’ hold on Lelouch was failing, which meant that it was only a matter of time before Suzaku had to deal with Lelouch again. Suzaku was sure that he would kill Lelouch then, because it was what needed to be done. He would kill Lelouch and then be put to death by the Euro-Britannians.

_“Live!”_

Suzaku gasped, the sound pitching up into a bitten back yelp when he felt Lancelot struggle against the ropes again. He tipped his head back against the wall, grabbing at his knees as he tried to calm her down.

_Stop. You’ll hurt yourself._

_I have to live. I have to. I need to…need to…_ She calmed slowly, the geass fighting him every step of the way. When it had finally eased away, Lancelot was trembling in her ropes, Suzaku feeling blood trickling down her sides from reopened wounds.

He took a deep breath, letting it out in the muttered curse. It was more likely that the Euro-Britannians wouldn’t have the chance to get to them, Lelouch’s geass would do the two of them in. Maybe if they hadn’t been so close, if he hadn’t let Lancelot in back when Lelouch had killed Euphemia, the curse wouldn’t be shared between them. Maybe Lancelot would have been able to just stand calmly without the geass pushing her to try and escape.

Suzaku shifted in place, trying to get comfortable on the hard floor. He couldn’t quite shake the feeling of the ropes cutting into him, but he could try and focus on something else. If his mind was calm, then it would be harder for Lancelot to panic and hurt the both of them more.

He had never been good at meditating, he had always been too squirmy as a child. Suzaku doubted that he patience for it now, but he could at least try. It was better than just sitting around in pain.

He touched her mind, soothing her back as close to calm as he could before he settled back against the wall. Suzaku closed his eyes, keeping a tight hold on Lancelot’s mind when she started to panic.

_Everything is still there._

_But-_

Suzaku shushed her, focusing on breathing steadily. He felt her confusion for a moment before she tried to copy him. Her first breath caught in the muzzle, Suzaku having to fight her rising panic again. Suzaku guided her through the first few breaths before he focused on his own again. He tried to sink into that calm place, like Tohdoh had told him. It was a place of thoughts without being distracted by them, a place of focus with nothing between him and his goal. Lacking a real goal, he just wanted to keep from freaking him and his raptor out. They both needed to conserve their energy if they were going to get out of the situation.

He had settled into something that might have been the start of mediation when he heard someone speak.

“Suzaku.”

Suzaku jerked his head up, looking around the room before focusing on where Lelouch was sitting. The man had been sitting still since they had been dragged into the cell. Suzaku was almost sure that it hadn’t been Lelouch that had spoken, because it didn’t sound like him, at least not completely. But it was still familiar, haunting so.

“Hey Suzaku.” He looked up in time to see Lelouch speaking. Suzaku stared at him in shock. He hadn’t thought that Lelouch would talk after the fit he had had. All the other times he had kept quiet until the memories that the emperor had planted in him had reasserted themselves. The memories had always returned, no matter how long Lelouch fought against it. Then again, the fits had never been as bad as the one with Shin and Lelouch had never gone practically comatose.

He shifted against the wall, almost hoping that Lelouch wouldn’t speak again. He could feel Lancelot perking up in his mind, drawn out of her calmed state by his surprise.

_What’s he doing?_

Suzaku didn’t get the chance to answer, because Lelouch spoke again, his words sending a chill up Suzaku’s spine. “It’s hot today too, huh?”

Suzaku glanced over at the water that they had been given, flinching when he felt Lancelot echo the statement. She whined, Suzaku feeling her try to hide how much she wanted out of the muzzle. He didn’t know how long she had gone without water. He cleared his throat, trying stave off the feeling of thirst. It wasn’t real, just a mix of whatever memory Lelouch was reliving and his raptor.

“Hey, Suzaku. Look! Sunflowers!”

He jerked his gaze over to Lelouch, his mouth falling open as he realized what Lelouch was talking about. The only time they had been among the sunflowers was back in their childhood, during that one summer that felt more like a dream than reality after everything they had done with each other.

Suzaku shook his head and tried to curl up in a ball. He didn’t want to hear about that summer, especially if that was all Lelouch would be talking about. For all Suzaku knew, that’s what Lelouch had been muttering about the entire time they had in the cell. He wanted to press his hands against his ears and close his eyes, the very thought making Lancelot screech and start to rock back and forth. He could feel her panic starting to choke him again, Suzaku scrambling to calm her down even as he heard Lelouch sigh from the other end of the cell.

“They’re pretty aren’t they, Suzaku?”

He shook his head, not sure if he was responding to Lelouch or just trying to shake Lancelot out of his head. Both of them weren’t helping, Lelouch with his memories and Lancelot as she struggled to deal with being confined and in pain.

“They’re pretty, huh…?” Lelouch trailed off for a moment before turning his head, Suzaku staring into Lelouch’s blank expression. It lasted a moment before a vague smile crossed Lelouch’s face. Suzaku wasn’t even sure that Lelouch really saw him, not that it mattered because Lelouch sighed and looked away again.

Suzaku relished the moment of silence, watching Lelouch for a moment before sitting back. He started to coax Lancelot back into a calmer frame of mind, slowly easing her into the moment when he closed his eyes.

This time, she went without a complaint, seeming to be receptive to the method. Suzaku didn’t know if it helped her with her pain, but he hoped that it kept her mind away from it. He settled her down again, slowly settling her down into a position that she could hold with the minimal amount of pain.

Lancelot trilled gently in his mind, Suzaku taking that as her version of thanks. He pressed her gently into a better state of mind, jerked out of his concentration a moment later.

“Hey Suzaku, It’s hot today, huh?”

His careful hold on Lancelot slipped, Suzaku feeling the raptor shift forward to try and catch herself. The ropes tightened around them, digging into old wounds.

And they screamed.


	17. Festival

Lancelot bobbed her head as they walked up to the palace. It was a measure of how overwhelmed she was that she wasn’t babbling to him. Her head just jerked around as she tried to see everything, ruining the image of the fierce raptor in her armor. If anything, it looked strange with the almost robotic movements of her head.

She stretched her neck as far as it would go to get a glimpse of the lanterns that were hung in the courtyard, chortling as one of the _Indominus_ nearly got tangled in the lanterns. The larger dinosaur grumbled and ducked its head, Suzaku glanced over at Anya.

She didn’t seem too concerned about her _Indominus_ , too busy snapping pictures of the surrounding area. Gino’s _Indominus_ seemed to be the only one that was actually working, its head partially lowered to avoid getting hung up of on the decorations that were strung up. The dinosaur grumbled every time some of the Chinese guards came closer, Gino laughing at patting the _Indominus’_ shoulder. Suzaku could almost hear the way he would tell the dinosaur to ease up.

Suzaku shook his head and looked ahead to where Prince Odysseus walked, Prince Schneizel and Kanon a few steps behind him. The prince seemed calm and unworried, not that Suzaku could think of a reason for the prince to be jumpy. The Chinese Federation might have offered Horai Island to the Black Knight exiles, but that didn’t mean that they were allies. From what Suzaku had overheard, the Chinese Federation was more interested in making a deal with Britannia. The last that he had heard they had been bargaining for titles. A few of them had asked for raptors, and they had stared at Suzaku while saying it. Apparently, tales of him and Lancelot had spread faster than expected. Schneizel hadn’t accepted their request for more raptors, but Suzaku had a feeling that the conversation would come soon enough.

Lancelot snorted as she caught the edge of the thought, Suzaku seeing her claws flex out of the corner of his eye. _They’re not getting any from me. I don’t like the look of what they have here._

Suzaku glanced over to where some of the Chinese raptors were patrolling, all of them smaller than their Britannian cousins and with patchy feathers. Suzaku didn’t know much about the Chinese Federation’s breeding program, but he did know what Lancelot thought of them. They might have been well fed, but the patchy, dull feathers were putting her off. Suzaku shivered at the thought of parasites, looking away.

There were plenty of other things to hold his attention, like glancing into the nooks and crannies of the courtyard they were processing through. Suzaku didn’t think that there would be an assassin waiting for Prince Odysseus, but he hadn’t liked how some of the Chinese guards had been staring at them. Obviously, the marriage had been a move on the High Eunuchs’ part alone. From the glares that they were still getting, Suzaku wished that he had his gun or sword, just something to make him feel a little less exposed.

The procession ground to a halt, Lancelot skittering around to Suzaku’s other side when Anya’s _Indominus_ took a step backwards to keep from getting tangled in another line of lanterns. She hissed at the larger dinosaur before rocking up as far as she could to see what was going on at the front of the procession.

Suzaku got a flash of a small girl in elaborate robs before Lancelot had to get better footing. He reached out to rest an arm on her back, stepping close to her so Gino’s _Indominus_ and the other raptors could settle into something that resembled military rank. He tucked his fingers around the edge of one of her armor plates, the hold more to keep him from being separated from her than to keep Lancelot still.

She had stopped bobbing in an attempt to see what was going on and had settled for keeping her head cocked to the side to hear what was going on. Some of it she ignored outright, most of the politics went over her head and she didn’t bother to try and keep up. The only thing that caught her attention was when the Eunuchs introduced the Tianzi, Suzaku feeling Lancelot shift to try and get a better look at the young empress.

She made a clicking nose, Suzaku smiling when he realized that she was trying to imitate the sound that Cecile made when she was confused about something. _She’s young._

 _The same age as Nunnally._ Lancelot’s grasp of human ages was a bit shaky, although she did better when she had someone to compare it to.

Lancelot made the clicking noise again. _He’s too old._

 _It’s not about that._ Lancelot huffed at his explanation, turning her head away. Suzaku sighed before deferring to his usual answer when there was something that he couldn’t begin to explain to her. _It’s politics._

 _I thought you wanted dynasties._ She tripped over the word a bit. _This won’t breed out._

_The prince probably has a back-up plan for that._

_He’d better._ She still sounded slightly disgusted by the idea, more because of the waste of a good breeding opportunity than any other implication.

Suzaku shrugged and fell back into a parade rest. The introductions would go on for a while which meant the rest of them would be left standing. Suzaku was sure that Lancelot would have plenty to entertain herself with between the speeches that the dignitaries and the decorations that were fluttering in the light breeze. The others would have their hands full if it lasted too long. Suzaku glanced over his shoulder, seeing some of the others starting to shift in boredom and their pilots grimace.

He sighed and faced forward again, watching as Lancelot craned her neck back to look at the lanterns again. He caught a fleeting thought of red feathers before Lancelot lowered her head again. _Do you think the Black Knights will come?_

Suzaku sighed, looking down at the cobbles he was standing on. He was hoping that the Black Knights would stay on Horai Island. The Chinese Federation hadn’t offered them any official standing, just the loan of an island. With the old Zero leading them, with Lelouch leading them, Suzaku would have immediately said yes. He might not have understood the complex set of political moves that had to be made, but he was getting good at spotting the opportunities. If Lelouch was still Zero, then he would make a move. If not, then Suzaku wasn’t sure.

He bit his lip, finally settling on a mental shrug. _That depends. Is Lelouch Zero?_

Lancelot opened his mouth slightly, her version of a human smile. _I wish he was._

There was the promise of violence there, one that Suzaku tried to calm out of habit. It was what he had been trained to do, keep his raptor in line in case she tried to override his control. Then again, he wasn’t so sure if it was completely her own anger or a combination of both of their emotions. If would be hypocritical of him to tell her to calm down when he was sure that he felt the same.

He settled for patting her side, trying to keep the touch as light as he could so it wouldn’t sound off of her armor. _Behave. This is a wedding._

 _I will if they do._ He was sure Lancelot would have fluffed her feathers up if she could. Instead she just raised her head to look down at him before settling again.

Suzaku was tempted to remind her that he would hold her to that promise, but he didn’t think it would matter. Even if the Zero that led the Black Knights wasn’t Lelouch his gut told him that they would attack sometime during the wedding. Then his chastisement to Lancelot would mean nothing, and she wouldn’t hesitate to point that out to him.

He sighed and draped his arm over her, shifting his weight so he was leaning against her. She grumbled to him, not really meaning it. If anything, she leaned back into him before craning her neck back and looking around at the decorations. She was silent for a moment before she started to narrate what she was seeing, the running commentary keeping him from imagining Zero lurking in the shadows.


	18. Break

C.C. clung to the boy’s arm as he led her away from the strange cavern she had found herself in. She tried not to look around too wildly, sure that she would fall right over in the shoes she wore. They were strange and she felt like she was going to topple over if she moved too far because they were so high off the ground. Still, she could feel herself correcting any misstep, like she knew how to get around in them, something that was impossible. She hadn’t worn shoes, they had been too expensive and the one pair that she had owed had worn off her feet while she had walked the length and breadth of what felt like the known world.

She must have walked far to get to the caves. They looked like nothing she had ever seen before, full of carved houses and strange lights that didn’t flicker. C.C. couldn’t help but stare at a few of them, trying to figure out what they were. Most of them were too far away from her to see, but it looked like something that had come down from heaven. She had heard priests talking about a great god, far greater than all of the others, with his messengers of light that protected the faithful. Maybe the lights she saw were those messengers of light and she had walked herself all the way to heaven.

She smiled at the thought, absently playing with a fold of the boy’s strange outfit. That would be some kind of miracle, but a welcome one. If she had managed to walk her way to heaven, then all of her sufferings were over. She could rest in the paradise that was promised to her by all of those priests who she had sheltered with along the way. If not that paradise, then there were other gods who promised something like this, an afterlife for brave warriors and women. C.C. didn’t think she had been particularly brave, but walking to heaven must have impressed someone.

The boy acting as her escort suddenly stopped, C.C. realizing that she had been tugging at a wrinkle on his sleeve. She jerked her hand away, tottering on her strange shoes.

She expected the boy to tell her off for acting too friendly but he just reached out and caught her before she fell. “Be careful.”

C.C. nodded and looked away, keeping her gaze on the ground and he continued to lead her through the miraculous caverns. It was easier to look at the ground and keep her balance. Besides, she had heard that the wonders of heaven could blind the unworthy, and she didn’t want to be blinded, it would make walking harder.

Every once and a while she could feel the boy tense before he spoke, seemingly to no one. C.C. was tempted to look up to see if one of the messengers of light was speaking to him, but she was too afraid. But she couldn’t hear them coming and going, unless they could fly. Certainly if they could then she would hear their wings.

She managed to keep herself from looking up until they had nearly reached the top of the stairs. C.C. was sure that she would have managed to keep her gaze on the ground it someone hadn’t come rushing over to the boy.

“Brother!”

C.C. looked up, her eyes widening as she saw a young boy running over to them. He looked surprisingly like the boy who had found her, the same colored eyes. She shot her rescuer a glance, trying to figure out the strange look that crossed his face. She thought that he would be happy to see his brother, not look disappointed. Not unless he didn’t want to be seen with her. She ducked her head, turning slightly to the side in the hopes that it would be enough to encourage her rescuer. She didn’t want to trouble him more than she already had.

She bit her lip as her rescuer’s brother kept talking. “I’ve cleared everyone like you asked. They’ve already headed back to the base.”

“Jeremiah?”

“He had to rush back, something important. It might have been something wrong with his implants or his raptor. He rushed off before I could ask him about it.”

C.C. heard her rescuer sigh, glancing back in time to see him shake his head. She licked her lips, looking over to his brother in time to see the boy smile. She offered the boy a smile, not sure that it would help.

The boy barely looked at her. He scuffed his toe in the sand. “I’m still here…and so is Vincent.”

“Of course. I just expected more of Jeremiah.  Take the lead with Vincent and take it as slow as you need to. There’s no point in pushing him with a bad foot. I’ll be taking it slow too. C.C. is…she isn’t feeling well.”

“Right.” The boy scurried away, C.C. watching him go.

She looked away when her rescuer glanced at her. C.C. played with a fold in her clothes, staring down at the sand. “I’m sorry if I’m a burden.”

“You’re not. It’s just been a long day.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, as he let out a long sigh. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

C.C. clung to his arm, letting him guide her away from the caves. She lowered her gaze as they stepped out into the sun.

The sun was hot and bright, so hot that C.C. thought that she had gone right out from heaven and into hell. She shrunk back against her rescuer, looking at the sands that seemed to go on forever. She couldn’t imagine a way out, on a miracle could get them away from there. And her rescuer talked about it like it was easy to get out. He had to be one of those messengers of light to even contemplate that.

Her quick looks of the desert were brought up short when she felt the ground shake under her feet. She stumbled to a stop, flinging her free arm out to keep her from falling over.

C.C. stared at the ground, expecting it to open up and the sand to pour into the earth. It was the sort of stories that she remembered from her childhood, of gods that could call monsters up from the earth. Except this time the monster didn’t come from the earth, it came loping over the sand towards them.

She screamed and pushed away from her rescuer, running backwards so fast that she fell over. C.C. dug her fingers into the sand, trying to find a way to hold herself down as the monstrous creature came towards them.

She had never seen anything like it, huge and scaly with a long muzzle and sharp teeth. Its black hide glistened in the harsh sunlight, looking like a creature from myth or from hell.

C.C. reached out for her rescuer, shaking as the huge creature slowed and then came to a stop. She sucked in a quick breath as it lowered its head, staring at her rescuer before making a low grumble.

Her rescuer seemed to understand what the noise meant. He stroked the underside of the great jaw, scratching at the scales as the creature made a sound like a cat’s purr. C.C. even saw the monster settle into the scratch, the low rumble getting louder until her rescuer stepped away.

Then the creature turned to look at her, C.C. shivering at the eye that was tipped her way.

For a moment, she thought she recognized something in the creature’s stare, something tickling at the back of her mind. It was gone as quickly as it came, C.C. scrambling away from the creature as it took another step forward. It rumbled again, C.C. shaking her head.

It was going to eat her, she was sure of that. It was a punishment from the gods for leaving her village. But she had had no choice, there had been no food for her and she hadn’t wanted to starve. She had just gone looking for food, for a way to live. Surely that wasn’t a crime that she should be killed for.

C.C. only realized that she was mouthing the words to a prayer when her rescuer knelt down beside her and touched her shoulder, startling the last word out of her. “Evil!”

The boy looked confused for a moment before he shook his head. “No. Shinkiro won’t hurt you. He’s just…worried. He thinks you’re sick.”

“How do you know?” C.C. stared at him, shock and awe crossing her face. Only people with extraordinary power could control such beasts, and her rescuer could do it with a single touch. The monster didn’t look docile, but it wasn’t trying to attack.

C.C. bit her lip, reaching out her hand before snatching it back when the creature shuffled forward. She stared at her rescuer, surprised when he reached out and took her hand. He cradled it gently between his, C.C. unable to look away from his face.

That seemed to encourage him, her rescuer nodding and patting her hand. “I’ll get you someplace safe, somewhere with food. But Shinkiro will have to take us there. You’ll have to get on his back.”

C.C. wanted to shake her head, but she wanted to stay out in the hot sun even less. There was the promise of food, something that was in very short supply back where she had come from. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had eaten. Her rescuer and his brother looked healthy enough, which meant that they had plenty of food and they were willing to share some with her. She licked her lips, giving the creature one last look.

Her rescuer could control the monster, it was still standing there and watching them. He was the one who could take her out of the desert. He was the one who had found her. She owed him for all of that.

She nodded, letting her rescuer help her up. She tottered unsteadily towards the monster, trying to get her knees to work. She knew that the creature was controlled, but it was so big and it looked so dangerous. C.C. felt her hands shaking the closer she got to the creature, but she didn’t back down; not even when her rescuer helped her up onto the strange saddle on the creature’s back.

She settled herself down as best she could, taking deep breaths as she felt her rescuer climb up behind her. His hands rested briefly on her shoulders before they dropped away. C.C. thought she heard him start to say something, but kept it quiet. Through a signal that C.C. couldn’t pick out, the monster turned and started to walk through the sands, the earth shaking under its feet.

%MCEPASTEBIN%


	19. Sensorial

Silence filled the chamber. It always did after they had run through their usual greetings and Nunnally had asked after Kallen’s health. If there was a way to draw out their meaningless conversations, Nunnally would try it because it always felt like they were both hesitant to get to the real reason Nunnally spoke with her on a nearly daily basis.

There were thousands of things to ask Kallen, running from the political questions that Nunnally knew her council was waiting for her to ask to the personal questions, like memories of her brother. The latter were the only things she had to hold onto now that her brother was officially missing. Unofficially, she didn’t know what he was, but nobody would tell her. Any time she tried to bring up the subject Ms. Lohmeyer to tell her to focus on the problems of running Area 11 and Suzaku would clam up. Kallen was her one line to her brother, wherever he was.

Instead of either of those, Nunnally found herself asking “What does it feel like piloting a raptor?”

She heard Kallen shift on her chair, Nunnally imagining that Kallen was going from the relaxed posture she had fallen into a few moments before to the alert one that Kallen always seemed to have when she was brought up from the cells. Nunnally was sure that Kallen always expected someone else to be waiting for her when she was brought up, and that she would be executed on that day. But she was too valuable to get rid of so quickly. Even when Kallen’s usefulness to the government ran out, Nunnally wouldn’t give the order to execute her, even if she was a member of the Black Knights.

What the rest of her council didn’t understand was that the Black Knights were a symptom of the problems in Area 11. It was a matter of figuring out how to balance what they wanted and what Britannian wanted. It was hard, but Nunnally was sure that they could do it if they only listened to what the Elevens wanted.

Kallen shifted again, Nunnally not sure how she had moved, but it wasn’t the worried position anymore. Nunnally kept her hands draped carefully in her lap, trying to put off an air of calm.

It was a change from their usual line of questioning, so of course Kallen would be wary about what would happen next. Nunnally would just have to stay calm and in control, maybe that would help Kallen relax again.

“Nothing’s happened to him. He’s being kept safe.”

“How do you know?”

“I check on him every day. I sit by his pen and listen.” Nunnally smiled at her. Kallen didn’t have to know what she went down to the raptor pens with Suzaku when he went to exercise Lancelot, or that Lloyd and Cecile were working on the armor. Nunnally didn’t even know what Lloyd and Cecile were doing, other than just playing around with what the Black Knights had. She was sure that her advisors would want a report about it, but that might be long in coming.

“And he’s alright?”

“He is. Maybe a bit mad about not being able to see you, but he’s alright.”

She heard Kallen sigh, taking it as a good sign.

“Can I see him?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“So, no.”

Nunnally sighed and lowered her head. She didn’t think there was a chance that she could get Kallen to see Guren, not without making some promises to her council. Nunnally was sure that Kallen wouldn’t want to make compromises, not when they would lead to her revealing secrets about the Black Knights. She bit her lip, offering Kallen a shrug. “I’ll see what I can do.”

She didn’t think that her second answer satisfied Kallen any more than the first one. Nunnally shifted in her chair, expecting the interview to come to an end. She had pushed Kallen too far, and she would have to wait for another opportunity, except that she wasn’t sure when that would come. She had read over the schedule for the next few days and it seemed to be an endless list of meetings about things that Nunnally was sure that she had already resolved.

She raised her hand to rest on the control for her wheelchair, freezing when she heard Kallen clear her throat. Nunnally turned her head, listening as Kallen sighed.

“It feels strange at first, because they don’t think like us, not really. They can learn, at least Guren did, but it takes a while.” Nunnally heard the rustle of Kallen’s dress as she moved. “It’s like having another little voice in your head, but you can’t control it.”

Nunnally sucked in a quick breath, inching her wheelchair closer to the glass that separated her and Kallen. “What about seeing? Or running? How does that feel?”

“I...I don’t know. I’ve never…” Kallen was quiet for a moment before she cleared her throat. “Guren can run faster than me, I know that. But I just feel the wind and his heart beating. He can see better too. He’s been able to pick out things that I couldn’t even see. “

Nunnally nodded, slightly disappointed with the answer. She had been hoping that Kallen would be able to describe things to her like Suzaku did when she accompanied him on his walks. According to him, Lancelot never stopped sharing things that she found, giving Suzaku the chance to tell Nunnally what the world was like through Lancelot’s eyes.

Then again, Lancelot was lucky. She was allowed outside of her pens and that was only because she was a Britannian raptor. Guren probably didn’t get the chance to run free except outside of battle. Kallen had probably never looked through her raptor’s eyes for the fun of it. Everything she knew was from battle and not what Nunnally was looking for. She had heard enough about death and battles. They were important, but not at this moment. This was just her and Kallen, two friends from school talking.

She lifted her head and smiled at Kallen. “That sounds wonderful.”

“It is.” From the way that Kallen’s voice trailed off Nunnally could tell that she hadn’t ever noticed it.

Nunnally ignored the realization, trying to work through the schedule in her head. It wouldn’t be fair to keep Kallen’s raptor cooped up while the others were taken out to be exercised. No one else would agree with her, except maybe Suzaku. She might be able to convince Lloyd and Cecile to let the raptor out for armor testing, but she wouldn’t be able to talk anyone into letting Kallen ride along in the raptor’s mind. She was sure that Kallen would be interested in the trade off, but she would only talk to her about it when she was sure that the answer was yes. There was no point in getting Kallen’s hopes up, not when Nunnally was sure that her visits were the high point of Kallen’s day, especially when everyone on  her council had access to Kallen.

“Nunnally?”

She looked up abruptly, realizing that she had been quiet for a while. She gave Kallen an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

“Thinking about business?”

“Yes.” Nunnally turned her head towards the door. She couldn’t hear anyone walking down towards the detention area, but she could tell that she was running out of the allotted time to talk with Kallen. There were a few more meetings that she had to sit through before she would get free time again.

“You have to leave?”

Kallen sounded worried, Nunnally not blaming her. The only things she had to look forward to were sitting in her cell or the next round of interrogation. It was a lonely existence and one that Nunnally couldn’t do anything about.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’ve got things to do. Just remember to put in a good word for me.”

Nunnally nodded before turning her wheelchair around. One of the prison guards would make sure that Kallen was taken back to her cell while Nunnally went to her next meeting to put in Kallen’s request.

It was a familiar request, one that ended all of their sessions. Nunnally tried her best to push for something, but she was always blocked by the rest of her council. Maybe one day she would get them to bend, until then she could only make promises.


	20. Wrong

Luciano ambled almost aimlessly through the halls of the administrative building. There was nothing for him to do without the Black Knights hovering around, and Bismarck wouldn’t let him pick a fight. The Knight of One had to know that sparring was good for morale, especially when they were in the situation they were in.

The full force of the Knights of the Round hadn’t been brought to bear, not that it was needed when they were facing off against the Elevens. But the Rounds that were in Area 11 weren’t the most impressive. Gino Weinberg was there, playing around as he always did and, as always, Anya was tagging along at his heels. Luciano had no idea who had decided to give Anya the position of Knight of Six, considering she was a thirteen year old girl, but he couldn’t deny the fact that she was good at what she did. That meant that the only competent knights in Area 11 were the Knight of One, Knight of Six and himself. After all, what use were a spoiled brat of knight and an Eleven?

Luciano shook his head. It was not his place to question the emperor’s orders; it was just his place to follow them. After all, the emperor had never steered him wrong before and he had always been rewarded by being steered towards the next war.

He curled his fingers carefully, resisting the urge to pull out his knives. He had already been chastised for drawing on the Knight of Seven. Bismarck was pushing them to work together, but Luciano couldn’t imagine why. He had never needed to work with any of them before and he certainly wouldn’t have to for the Black Knights, Zero or not.

Luciano sighed and headed down to where the pens were. He hadn’t checked in on his _Indominus_ since she had been shipped over. He might as well make sure that everything had come over from the homeland safely. He didn’t have to worry about his dinosaur much, she traveled well, far better than Bismarck’s.

He hummed to himself as he walked grinning at the people he passed. It was well worth the effort to see them scramble away. Luciano dropped a hand down to one of his knives. The motion made the people scurry off faster, Luciano laughing to himself as he made his way down the stairs to the pens.

He was halfway down the hallway to the pens when he heard a growl. Luciano paused, back tracking to look back in the sparring room. He raised his eyebrows when he saw the Knight of Seven in the room.

The Eleven was in traditional garb, an outfit that Luciano was sure had been banned when Britannia had taken over. Then again, as a Knight of the Round the Eleven couldn’t be punished for flaunting the laws. It just made him look silly. If the Eleven was so attached to his culture he should have joined the Black Knights instead of the Britannians. Right now, he just looked like the many Numbers who tried to be Britannian just to make themselves less pathetic. It was a laughable, their attempts to hang onto ideas that they had willingly thrown away.

A raptor rushed past the door, Luciano surprised to see one out. He stepped forward, leaning his shoulder against the door to see what was going on.

He had thought that it was a common practice to keep the dinosaurs penned up until they were need. It was just common sense. There was more wiggle room with Sutherland or Glasgow lines, the two of them had been breed stupid to allow their pilots to control them more efficiently. Too many pilots were afraid of losing themselves in their raptors to bother to try the new intelligent breeds that were coming out, something that Luciano laughed at. If they were any kind of soldier they wouldn’t be afraid of that, because it was glorious. It just further proved the idea that the _Indominus rex_ should be reserved for the best. It was no point in giving useless cowards the best weapon they had.

The raptor sped by again, Luciano watching her carefully. He had heard about VB-KR07-Z-01 before she had gotten her Rounds identification. She had been the one surviving offspring of an experimental line because Prince Schneizel had been using her in his Camelot science section. Apparently, she had worked out, or at least well enough for an Eleven to use her.

He hummed to himself, watching her move around the room. Her lines were good enough, and she had a focus that the other raptors didn’t have, even after two years of working with a human. That was the sort of raptor Britannia needed. It was the kind that his Valkyrie squad needed instead of being stuck with the most intelligent line crosses that they could find. VB-KR07-Z-01 had already proven herself in battle, which should be enough to convince the breeders that it was time to start using her instead of wasting her on an Eleven.

Luciano saw VB-KR07-Z-01’s gaze flicker to him for a moment, surprised when he saw the Eleven turn his head almost at the exact same time. Neither of them gave him their full attention, the only hint that VB-KR07-Z-01 recognized Luciano was the way her feathers fluffed a bit.

The Eleven must have sent her something to get her attention back to him, because she turned quickly and charged in. She trotted past him, trying to get around the wooden sword he was using.

Luciano thought the moves were slow and clumsy until he realized that the Eleven was purposely keeping them slow, coaching the raptor through the best way to get around the attacks. Using swords was a bit obsolete, but with all the armor that was being put on the raptors, a good blade might be the best way to pry their shells back open. Luciano had always preferred his knives to guns; it was much more personal that way. More fulfilling.

He watched the two of them work, raising an eyebrow when he realized that the Eleven wasn’t wearing one of the communication units. So that was how good the new system was. Luciano couldn’t tell if it was an implant or if the conflict in Area 11 had pushed the Eleven too far. He could see it being the latter, because he had kept tabs on the Eleven’s military record. It seemed like they had sent him out every chance that they got, like he was the only good soldier that they had. It would have explained the trouble that they had with the Black Knights; they had to rely on an Eleven who was almost half raptor.

Luciano snorted and pushed away from the doorway, leaving the Eleven to play with his raptor. It was just a shame that that VB-KR07-Z-01 had been given to an Eleven, but at least she was being trained. After he was done with Zero and the Black Knights were taken care of he would make sure to talk to Bismarck. He didn’t think he could get VB-KR07-Z-01 considering that she had already been assigned to a knight, but at least he could make sure that her line didn’t die out because she had been mishandled.


	21. Branch

Suzaku pulled on his school uniform, pausing as the hiss that he heard. He automatically turned to look for his raptor, but she wasn’t there. He shook his head at his own foolishness. He had gotten too used to having Lancelot close by him. The two of them had kept close just because it was easier. With the Chinese Federation splintering the Black Knights were gaining traction in the area. There hadn’t been open rebellion yet, but Suzaku was sure that it was only a matter of time. There had been reports of forces massing near Horai Island, which meant the attack was imminent.

That was one of the reasons he was reluctant to go to the meeting. The combined forces of the Chinese Federation and the Black Knights would be descending on Japan, and they would need him and Lancelot on the front lines. Instead, he was going back home to meet with the enemy.

_So stay._

_I can’t._ There were too many reasons for him to go, but he couldn’t quite articulate them. Thankfully, Lancelot knew how to pick out what he was trying to say. But, from the feeling of disgust, she didn’t understand the reasons.

Suzaku a sighed and tugged on his belt, sliding the excess through the keeper. _There’s a chance that we can stop this._

_No there isn’t._

_You don’t know Lelouch._

_You do._ He could imagine the way that she would fluff herself up. _If you know him then I do too._

Suzaku shook his head, but he didn’t bother to disagree with her. She might have seen his memories of Lelouch, but she couldn’t know him like Suzaku did. Even if Lelouch had never intended to stop his rebellion, he had mentioned Nunnally. That’s how he knew that Lelouch was serious. He wouldn’t involve Nunnally unless it was really important.

_Or you could be falling for another trap. Let me come with you._

_I promised to go alone._

_I don’t count._

_To Lelouch you would._

_It’s not his fault that he can’t handle his_  Indominus _on his own._

_No, but I need you here. If something happens to me, you’ll be the first to know._

That got her grudging approval, although she was still sulking. Suzaku almost wished that he was down by the pens to try and tease her out of her sulk, but he couldn’t risk it. No one else could know that he was going to talk to Lelouch. Lelouch might have requested the meeting, but it might be Suzaku’s only chance to catch Zero before the Black Knights pushed into Japan. It was a choice between his friend and his duty to the empire.

Suzaku played with the end of his belt before giving up. He had already made up his mind, or he wouldn’t have changed out of his uniform into his Ashford uniform. He also wouldn’t have wasted the time convincing Lancelot that he had to go. He _should_ inform the viceroy about what he was doing, but then he would never get what he needed. It had been weeks since he had talked to Lelouch and Suzaku didn’t know when his next chance would come. The upcoming battle could ruin any chance he had at getting answers.

_Just capture him and make him tell you._

He shivered at the suggestion. He had tried that once with Kallen, and that had been too close of a call. He wasn’t going to stoop to Lelouch’s level, not while there was still another way. He wanted to hang onto what was left of his soul for as long as he could.

Suzaku sighed and looked at himself in the mirror, trying to convince himself of that. He hadn’t lost himself quite yet, not with everything that he had done. He had betrayed Lelouch, but he had acted in his position as a knight of Britannia. Lelouch couldn’t have thought that he would do anything else. Besides, Lelouch had betrayed him first. Euphemia hadn’t needed to die, the two of them could have worked together to help Japan. All he was trying to do was protect his country while Lelouch tried to tear it apart.

He turned on his heel, heading toward the door. Suzaku felt Lancelot settle, turning her full attention to him. He sighed and let her sit there. If it would make her feel better then he would let her. Suzaku was sure that, as soon as their connection wavered for some reason, she would sound the alarm.

She sent back an affirmative, Suzaku rolling his eyes, but he was glad that she would be sticking close. He had known Lelouch, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think that they were the same as the year before. Too much had happened between the two of them. Besides, he couldn’t pass up a chance for peace. Not after two years of war. Not when Nunnally would order him to find a way to peace at all costs.

_Not with him._

_We have to try._

Lancelot huffed, but she didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t risk Nunnally’s safety, not even if it meant meeting with Lelouch. Suzaku could promise all he wanted that Lelouch wouldn’t hurt his sister, but Lancelot wouldn’t believe him; not after Euphy. It was hard to convince Lancelot of anything good that Lelouch could do.

Suzaku wasn’t even sure why he bothered to hold onto some kind of hope either. After everything Lelouch had done, it would be smarter to just wash his hands of his former friend and get on with his life. It would certainly be easier, because he could air all of his suspicions without worrying about his conscience.

At least this way he would be distracting Zero for a while. The Black Knights were an impressive force, but Lelouch gave them the miracles they needed to beat the Britannians. If he could extend his talk long enough then maybe the Britannians could sweep up the attempted rebellion. Then he would be able to keep his promise to Lelouch and discharge his duty. Nunnally would be safe if they weren’t fighting with the Black Knights and Japan wouldn’t have to worry about being dragged into another war.

Or maybe he was just trying to justify his selfish mission. Suzaku didn’t know anymore. It seemed like everything he was trying to do was pulling him in two different directions. At least Lelouch was being straightforward for once, something that the rest of his life wasn’t. Besides, it was the first offer of peace that Lelouch had offered him, and Suzaku was sure that no one else would jump at the chance. Most of the generals were jumping at the chance to wipe out the budding United Federation of Nations and the Black Knights in one stroke.

From the way that Lancelot perked up, she agreed with those generals. Suzaku was almost sure that he agreed with her. He was tired of staring at battle plans and seeing nothing but more fighting for the rest of his future. He just wanted it to end, and the only way to make that happen would be to go directly to Lelouch.

He could feel Lancelot’s snort from a distance. _Start wishing for a miracle then._

Suzaku send his agreement to her. Although, considering it was Lelouch, Suzaku thought the worst thing he could hope for was a miracle.


	22. Spring

Lelouch strolled around the edge of the lake, working his way over to the Roman folly that had been built to one side of it. It wasn’t the farthest point from the imperial palace, but it took a lot to get to. The only path to the lake was through the winding gardens and then out through the open common. Lelouch had heard that it had once been used for hunting, but he hadn’t ever heard of an emperor having the time to hunt. He had seen the deer that lived in the park, although they were all hidden away now that Lelouch had moved Shinkiro into the area.

The _Indominus_ was out in the lake now, wading out into the depths. Lelouch ticked up the comm unit he wore, listening to the rolling waves of contentment about the cool water. Lelouch turned it down again when Shinkiro started to chase after the fish, leaving the _Indominus_ to his entertainment. It had been a while since Shinkiro had gotten the chance to relax. The two of them had been on the warpath and then the run for nearly two years, they needed a little break.

He made his way over to the steps of the folly, staring up at the marble monument before sitting down on the steps. He leaned back on the step above him, watching as the dinosaur chased after the fish. It was a rare moment of calm in running the empire, one that Lelouch was going to take. Things were only going to get worse as time went on. Lelouch tipped his head back and closed his eyes.

 _Raptor_.

Lelouch jerked his head back up at the warning. He glanced over at Shinkiro, the _Indominus_ staring off in the direction of the garden path. Lelouch turned to see the path, watching as Lancelot ran out of the gardens.

The raptor came to a stop, raising herself up on her toes to stare at the area. She remained still for a moment, Lelouch almost missing the quick look that she shot behind her before she rushed down towards the lake.

Lelouch reached out for Shinkiro to keep him from attacking Lancelot, but he didn’t have to. The _Indominus_ watched as Lancelot ran towards the end of lake, stopping just before the water. She danced at the edge for a bit before starting to skirt around the edge, jumping in and out of the water. Shinkiro kept tabs on her as he waded further out into the center of the lake. He settled there, submerging everything but his head in the water.

Lelouch watched the two of them for a moment before looking back at the path. Just like he expected, Suzaku followed after his raptor. He tracked Lancelot’s progress along the lake before looking over at Lelouch. At a distance, Lelouch couldn’t tell if Suzaku was smiling, but he found himself hoping that Suzaku was.

It was a recent development, one that had been a long time in coming. Suzaku had never been at his throat, but they had carefully avoided each other. Since had had proclaimed himself emperor, Suzaku had been sticking around longer. Lelouch had thought that it had been because he had claimed Suzaku as Knight of Zero and that kind of position meant that he had to stick around the emperor, but that wasn’t the case. Suzaku might have been on his daily walk with Lancelot, but there were plenty of other places that the raptor could have gone and it wouldn’t have been too hard to steer her away once she had caught Shinkiro’s scent. From the looks of things, Suzaku was starting to seek him out again.

Lelouch smiled and gestured to the marble steps beside him. Suzaku hesitated, Lelouch frowning until he realized that Suzaku was talking with Lancelot. The raptor stopped her exploration long enough to bob her head at him before she chased after something in the shallows. He heard Suzaku laugh as his knight headed over his way, Lelouch smiling fondly at the sound. He hadn’t heard it in a long while.

Suzaku covered the distance between the two of them quickly, claiming the spot beside Lelouch. His gaze flickered back to where Lancelot was still circling the lake, the raptor taunting Shinkiro. The _Indominus_ didn’t rise to the bait, but that didn’t stop Suzaku from leaning forward.

Lelouch reached out for Suzaku, hesitating for a moment before touching Suzaku’s arm. Suzaku didn’t jump, but it took him a while to look at Lelouch. He must have been deep in Lancelot’s mind, something that Suzaku seemed to be doing more often. It was enough to make Lelouch worry that Suzaku was beginning to lose himself in the raptor. Lelouch had seen other soldiers unable to separate themselves from their raptors, he had walked through the Pendragon barracks when he installed Odysseus in the military. He didn’t want to lose Suzaku to that.

Suzaku shook his head, giving Lelouch a quick glance before shaking his head. “Lancelot is being chatty. She likes gardens.”

“Should I warn the gardeners?”

“Probably. She’s going to try and sneak out here every chance she gets. I haven’t found a lock that will hold her since she can watch me open them.”

Lelouch shook his head. “Warn her about Shinkiro.”

“She knows.” Suzaku shrugged and leaned back on the steps. “She’s going to lose interest in him soon. There’s a whole forest to explore.”

“I take it she likes it here.” Lelouch scooted a bit closer as Suzaku nodded, relaxing when Suzaku adjusted to let him close. He saw Lancelot jerk to attention out of the corner of his eye, sure that he saw her lip curl up before the raptor turned and ran into the forest. Lelouch sighed and shook his head. “She still doesn’t like me.”

Suzaku closed his eyes, sitting in silence for a moment. Lelouch almost thought that Suzaku was asking Lancelot with how long it took.

When Suzaku opened his eyes, Lelouch was expecting an immediate no, not the apologetic look that Suzaku gave him. “She doesn’t understand you. She’s like me, a soldier. Just give us orders and we’ll act. We don’t do complicated.”

Lelouch looked away from him. “Do you understand me?”

“I’m starting to. It took a while.”

It was the closest to an apology that Lelouch had heard from Suzaku, but the two of them had been dodging around properly apologies to each other for a long time. Lelouch was sure that there had been moments when they had started to say something to each other, but it had never come out. There had been too much to do between racing to Britannia before anyone else found out that Charles was dead and setting up the empire so they could tear it all down. Lelouch wasn’t sure that they could say to really fix what they had done to each other. All they had was the future and any little words they could slip in to ease the debt of guilt.


	23. Ending

Kallen stumbled away from Suzaku, her legs shaking as she kept herself away from the wall. It was a small victory that she could stand up on her own while Suzaku had to lean against the wall, but she was sure that it would be the only one that she got.

Her gun was out of bullets, meaning that it was nothing but a fancy club. The energy had run down on her shield, which meant that the shield on Guren’s armor would be gone too. Her dagger had been dropped somewhere on the Damocles, but it had probably rolled off the G-1 and down onto the troops that were fighting around the vehicle. If she was lucky, it had landed on one of the Britannian soldiers, which meant one less person for her comrades to push through. She was left with her fists and Guren, just about what Suzaku had. She was sure that she could do better.

She gave Suzaku a weak grin, trying to pull herself up. At least he was tired and Guren had managed to lead his raptor away, which meant that she had a chance to really go after him without Lancelot trying to gut her from behind. Kallen swallowed, switching her grip on her gun before charging in.

Suzaku only had a chance to look up before she slammed the butt of her gun against the side of his head. Kallen kept close as he stumbled away, aiming a kick at the back of his knee. She missed his knee, but got his calf as he twisted away. Suzaku limped for a step before charging at her.

Kallen ducked behind her arms, backing up at the flurry of punches that were aimed her way. She watched Suzaku carefully, amazed that he could have the strength to charge at her like they had just started fighting, especially with the way they had been chasing each other all over the Damocles.

Her foot slipped on her next step back, Kallen yelping and scrambling to get back onto the G-1. She felt something in her ankle give as she set her foot down. Kallen cursed under her breath and limped back from Suzaku, relieved that he let her go. She spared a glance down at her ankle, hissing as she tried to put weight on it. Her ankle wouldn’t hold her, Kallen bracing herself against the side of the Damocles as she panted for breath.

_Hold on. I’m coming._

_No!_ Kallen turned her head in the direction that the raptors had gone in, seeing Suzaku do the same out of the corner of her eye. _Keep her there. I’ll call when I need you._

She could feel Guren’s reluctance, but he was gone a moment later, probably because Lancelot had launched another attack against him.

Kallen gritted her teeth and pushed herself away from the G-1, swaying a bit as she tried to balance on one foot. She would have to finish this fast, although she had no idea how to. She stumbled over to the wall, bracing herself against it for a moment before using it to push herself forward.

Suzaku rushed forward to meet her charge, Kallen ducking under his swing only because her ankle gave out. She managed to turn so she could slam the butt of her gun into Suzaku’s side. She thought she heard something crack as she stumbled past.

They both collapsed to the ground, Suzaku immediately curling in on his side. Kallen looked back over her shoulder at him as she pushed herself up. She didn’t think that she would be able to stand up again, so she crawled over to Suzaku.

She meant to roll him over so she could push him off the edge of the G-1, but he tried to push her away. Kallen tried to stand up, losing her balance and falling heavily on Suzaku.

His head knocked hard on the metal of the G-1, Kallen wincing at the sound. She rolled away from him, staring at the blood that pooled from a cut on his head. Kallen scrambled for a hold on the wall, hauling herself upright as Suzaku lifted his head.

He looked blearily around, staring at Kallen for a long time before he seemed to recognize her. Even then it took him a while, Suzaku seeming confused about where he was. It was almost enough to make her believe that Suzaku had been geassed into following Lelouch, but her gut told her otherwise. Suzaku had always been against the Black Knights and she couldn’t imagine that he would change his mind, not even if Lelouch was the one in charge.

She looked around for her gun, groaning when she realized that she had dropped it when she had stumbled. It had skittered towards the end of the G-1, too far away from her to limp to get. She would have to pass Suzaku to get to it, and she didn’t think he would give up without a fight, head injury or not.

Kallen watched Suzaku carefully as she reached out for Guren. She didn’t have to work hard, because he was shoving himself into her mind.

_She’s coming._

Kallen turned her head at the warning, looking for Lancelot. Guren had thrown the image of Lancelot running away from him and back towards the G-1, making it hard for her to tell where Lancelot was coming from. She scrambled for a better hold on the wall, trying to sort through the split vision she was seeing. She shook her head, tensing at the clatter of claws on metal.

Lancelot stood at the other end of the G-1, her feathers ruffled and bloody. The raptor swayed in place, her head jerking as she looked between Kallen and Suzaku. There was something different about the way that she held herself, all instances of the body language that she was familiar with gone. Kallen swallowed and pressed herself more against the wall, freezing when Lancelot focused on her.

_Guren!_

She got a wordless response, the sense of hurrying and brief flashes of where he was in the battlefield. Kallen tried to pinpoint her raptor’s location in the mess of fighting soldiers, but it was hard when most of her attention was on the raptor that was swaying in front of her.

She sent back a plea for him to hurry, feeling Guren try to speed up. She winced at a jolt of pain through her arm. Kallen tucked her arm closer to herself, staring at it. She didn’t remember knocking it against anything, but she could have caught it on something when she had fallen. There was nothing on it, Kallen staring at her arm until she realized where the input had come from. Guren was the one who was hurt, Kallen almost feeling the jagged edges of bone sticking through her arm.

She bit her lip to keep from whimpering, freezing when Lancelot’s head jerked in her direction. The raptor hissed, spreading her claws. Lancelot took a slow step forward, Kallen holding her breath as she waited for the raptor to do something.

Lancelot studied her for a moment before she jerked her head to where Suzaku was still sprawled on the ground. Kallen saw interest flicker across the raptor’s face a split second before the raptor moved.

She screamed and threw herself to one side, feeling the wind from the raptor as Lancelot rushed past.

Kallen grunted as she hit the ground, curling into a ball as she waited for claws into dig into her. Instead, she felt the edge of the G-1 against her shoulder. She yelped and reached for the edge, her fingers curling around it for a moment before she rolled off. Kallen scrambled to get a hold, her fingers sliding against the armor before they lost their grip entirely.

“Guren!”

She felt her raptor start at the sound of his name, feeling a rush of panic from him. The connection between them frazzled, Kallen scrambling to hold onto it. She wouldn’t survive the fall without any broken bones, but she didn’t want to deal with it on her own.

“Kallen!” She heard the shout just before she hit something. She felt an arm wrap around her waist, Kallen looking up to see Gino.

The blond gave her a shaky smile before he hauled her up onto Tristan’s back. The _Indominus_ stood still despite the battle raging around him. Sometimes, he would reach out and snap at a soldier or a raptor that raced past him. Kallen thought she saw the _Indominus_ turn his head to look at her, but then he went back to guarding the two of them.

She swallowed and reached up to grab Gino’s shoulder, steadying herself against him. Kallen took a few deep breaths before looking up at him. “Have you see Guren?”

“Red?” Kallen scowled at Gino’s nickname for her raptor. He flashed her a quick smile before shaking his head. “I haven’t see him, but he should be trucking over.”

Kallen cursed, about to order Gino to start looking for him when there was a scream from the top of the Damocles.

She felt Tristan jump under them, the _Indominus_ turning around to face the G-1. Kallen rocked with the motion, catching sight of some of the soldiers around them coming to an abrupt stop. She didn’t stare at them too long, not when a flash of white on top of the G-1 commanded her attention.

The screaming came to an abrupt stop, Kallen’s stomach turning at the wet rip that she heard in the silence. Kallen found herself holding her breath as she heard something moving around on top of the G-1.

Lancelot peeked over the top, her muzzle and neck stained red. The raptor stared at them for a moment before snorting and running away. Kallen watched her until the raptor disappeared from sight, her mouth dropping open.

She had thought that Lancelot had come for her. The raptor had hurt Guren before running to rescue Suzaku, it was the only thing that had made sense. Lancelot had rushed her to get her away from Suzaku. But she had been wrong. Something had gone horrible wrong and Lancelot had turned on Suzaku.

Kallen stood up, grabbing onto Gino’s shoulder to steady herself. She felt his hands rest on her waist, but she didn’t bother to slap his hands way. He was supporting her weight, which was all that she cared about.

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Guren appear in front of Lancelot. Kallen reached out for him, her tired mind stumbling over an order to stay away from Lancelot.

The white raptor didn’t even look at him, she just continued trotting away. Guren side stepped over to the Damocles, keeping an eye on Lancelot even as curiosity drove him on.

He got far enough to get a glimpse of the top of the G-1, Kallen pressing a hand to her mouth as he showed her the mangled mess that Lancelot had left of Suzaku.

_Get away!_

He jumped at the order, straightening up as he spotted her. Guren made a pitiful sound, stumbling over to the edge of the G-1 before standing there. Kallen felt his hesitation to jump over to Tristan, the raptor not sure he would make it.

She reached up to tap Gino’s shoulder, relieved when Tristan moved over to the G-1, the _Indominus_ bumping against the vehicle.

Guren immediately scrambled over, curling himself up as close as he could to Kallen. She ducked her head and pressed it against his feathers, not wanting to look at the corpse on the top of the vehicle.

Guren whined and shifted in her arms. _Hurts._

 _I know. We’re getting out of here._ “Gino, medical.”

“On it. Hold on, Red. It’s going to get bumpy.”

Guren just sighed, resting his head on Kallen’s shoulder as she stroked his neck. She absently glanced around the field as they moved, freezing when she saw something white. Guren lifted his head as she called his attention to it, the two of them watching the bloodstained raptor as she made her way across the battlefield.


	24. Tear (the flesh)

“You told me that it wouldn’t be dangerous.”

Suzaku watched Lelouch pace across the room, slightly amused by his agitation. Lancelot was less amused than he was, Suzaku resting his hand on the top of her head. The raptor huffed and pressed her head against his side, the rest of her splayed halfway on the bed and halfway on the couch that had been dragged close to the edge of the bed.

The grumble that had been rumbling in her throat died out, Lancelot sighing and tipping her head to better guide Suzaku where to scratch. He smiled down at her, watching as she tried to move around to get his fingers to the right place.

He paused when he heard Lelouch stop pacing, staring at his friend as Lelouch glared at him. “I’m glad you think it’s funny.” Lelouch swayed in place, seeming to want to pace again, but he kept himself still. “This could have ruined everything. Zero Requiem depends on you being here.”

“It wasn’t dangerous. I’m still here, aren’t I?” Suzaku tried to push himself up, not wanting to argue with Lelouch when he was lying on his back. He managed to get himself onto his elbows before he had to stop, the pain from his ribs too much. He grunted and held himself still; ignoring the worried pokes that Lancelot gave him, both physically and mentally. Suzaku shifted to push her muzzle away, reinforcing the motion with a quick push to her mind as well.

Lancelot huffed and backed off, attempting to curl herself up on the couch. She couldn’t quite manage it, but the way she was curled made Suzaku think twice about laughing at her. Lelouch was already angry at him and he could never be sure about what C.C. thought about him. With his death being put out through the media, Lancelot was the only one left to him and he didn’t want to make her mad.

He flinched when the bed gave on one side. Suzaku pressed a hand to the wrapping around his ribs, glaring up at Lelouch.

Lelouch didn’t even bother to look apologetic. He just leaned on the bed, returning Suzaku’s glare. “You said she wouldn’t hurt you.”

“She wouldn’t.”

“Then what’s this?”

Suzaku instinctively curled around his hurt ribs when Lelouch gestured to his injured side. Lelouch jerked his hand away when Lancelot started growling.

_I don’t like what you’re thinking._

Suzaku turned his head so he could see his raptor, shaking his head when she started to get up from the couch.  _It’s what Lelouch is trying to imply._

 _How dare he?!_ Lancelot snarled and scrambled to her feet. She nearly fell off the couch, but that didn’t stop her from looking threatening. Suzaku saw the thought to jump onto the bed flash through her head, just barely stopping her from carrying it out. Lancelot shook her head, moving away from the bed to pace. _He doesn’t have the right. Not after Euphy._

Suzaku tried not to react to the thought. He had been over the argument so many times with both Lelouch and Lancelot. He was tired of the same circular argument with Lelouch, the one that always seemed to end with Lelouch looking superior and Suzaku feeling like he had lost the argument. Lancelot couldn’t understand what was being offered to them, she just knew that Lelouch was trying to make up for what had happened. That she didn’t fully understand frustrated her more than the fact that they were working with Lelouch.

Lancelot snarled one more time at Lelouch before turning and stalking back over to the door. She settled herself on the ground there, guarding the door and taking herself out of the conversation. Suzaku was tempted to call her back, but she was insulted and wouldn’t help in the conversation. It was hard enough trying to argue Lelouch down without Lancelot making her snide comments.

He sighed and slumped back on the pillows, giving up trying to remain somewhat upright. “Lancelot wants to rip your throat out for saying that she would hurt me.”

“Then she shouldn’t have broken your ribs.”

“She didn’t. You told me to defend the Damocles while you were in there, so I did. Kallen would have beaten me if you hadn’t told me to fake my death.”

“Kallen?” For the first time in months, Lelouch looked shocked. Suzaku almost wanted to clam up, just to savor the moment. It was rare that Lelouch wasn’t swapping between completely panicked as he tried to arrange everything so Zero Requiem could go without a hitch and a strange calm where he wouldn’t listen to any arguments. For once, he looked like Lelouch, not the distant emperor.

Suzaku smirked. “She wouldn’t back off, so I held position until I couldn’t. Then I called in Lancelot.”

“So all according to plan?”

The two of them looked over to where C.C. was lounging in the chair, Suzaku nodding at her in thanks. C.C. didn’t look at him, she just continued cuddling with her stuffed animal. “That’s what you wanted, right? Everything to go according to plan? And it helped sell the idea that Suzaku was dead. Excellent screaming.”

Suzaku chuckled, stopping himself when it hurt. “Thanks.”

C.C. nodded at him before adjusting her stuffed animal. “You’re just mad because he scared you.”

Suzaku wanted to laugh at that, but he stopped when he saw that Lelouch wasn’t responding. Instead, he was looking down at his hands.

He frowned and reached out to touch Lelouch’s arm. “Lelouch?”

“I knew what was happening. Someone must have put you under to keep you quiet. But I still…”

“It was necessary.”

That probably wasn’t the answer that Lelouch wanted, Suzaku could tell by the wide eyed look that Lelouch gave him. Suzaku reached out for Lelouch, closing his fingers around Lelouch’s arm. It was thinner than before, a worrying thought. Lelouch might be alright with dying, but Suzaku was not going to watch him waste away before his eyes.

He squeezed Lelouch’s arm, smiling when Lelouch looked up at him. “I’m fine.”

Lelouch shivered, Suzaku tightening his hold on Lelouch’s arm. Lelouch kept silent for another moment before he shook his head. “At least I don’t have to worry about you getting bored.”

“I’ll have C.C. and Lancelot for company.” Suzaku threw C.C. a smile, not sure if she saw it. He was sure that she would be sticking around him. Chasing after Lelouch had proven impossible during the initial set up stage, and Suzaku was sure that it was going to get worse the closer they got to Zero Requiem. Besides, he was sure that Lelouch would be spending most of his free time in the room. The three of them had started to fall into a strange sort of orbit, they would always come back to each other.

Lelouch opened his mouth, probably to refute something, but he ended up shaking his head. “Just don’t cause trouble.”

“I’m bed ridden, how can I?”

Lelouch gave him a long look before sighing. Suzaku expected him to take the chance to leave the room and get on with business. Instead, Lelouch twisted so he could lie down on the bed. Suzaku glanced down at Lelouch before turning to look at C.C. The woman just shrugged and abandoned her chair.

“I’ll announce your death. It will look better if the emperor mourns his knight in private for a while.”

Lelouch made a vague noise of agreement, shifting his arm so he could hold onto Suzaku’s wrist. Suzaku huffed and shifted so he could hold Lelouch’s hand, feeling his friend relax further.

He had underestimated Lelouch, something that he seemed to keep doing. He had thought that Lelouch would be glad to be rid of him, even with their friendship seeming to be on the mend. Even if they had their moments where it was almost like before, they had spent most of their time arguing about what they were going to do. Suzaku had thought that not being around each other at all times would help, it would mean less snapping at each other. Apparently, faking his death had frightened Lelouch more than he had thought.

Suzaku gently squeezed Lelouch’s hand, smiling at the grumble he got back in return. He let Lelouch be, turning his head to look for Lancelot.

The raptor had retreated from the door to let C.C. out and she was taking the chance to pace around the edges of the room. She stuck her head under the curtains, Suzaku feeling a spark of interest when she saw the gardens. He pushed a little deeper into her mind, looking out through her eyes at the space. It was the back of the administrative building’s gardens, one of the walled off ones. Suzaku was sure that Lancelot could find a way out into the main garden as she wanted to, but he would warn her away from it anyway.

_You can go out and run after the announcement goes out._

Lancelot snorted and moved away from the window. She ambled back over to the couch, reclaiming her spot on it. She dropped her head onto the bed, nudging it under his hand. Suzaku combed his fingers through her feathers, smiling at the soft sound that she made.

_I’ll go out when you’re better._

_That might be a while._

_I can wait_. She closed her eyes, effectively ending the conversation.

Suzaku didn’t press her further, letting her drift off to sleep. The pain in his ribs was a dull background noise, and the exhaustion from the battle hours before was pressing down on him again. It was hard to stay awake when he was sandwiched between two warm bodies.

He shifted so he was curled around Lelouch as best that he could, sighing when he couldn’t do more than rest his head on Lelouch’s shoulder. It wasn’t much, but Suzaku was willing to take what he could get. He had a limited amount of time before it would all be gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're getting an early update on this one since I'll be away on the actual posting day.


	25. Moon

The garden was fast becoming her favorite place in the new capital of Britannia. The Imperial Palace was still only halfway rebuilt as was most of the rest of the city, but Nunnally was alright with the delay. She didn’t want to be putting people out of their homes for her own sake. Besides, the ground floor was all that she needed at the moment.

She was quickly falling in love with her ground floor suite too, so much so that she didn’t think that she would give it up when the building was finished. She liked being able to go out into the gardens any time she needed to, and it was a great escape from her duties. Between meetings she would sneak out and plant a bit more in the garden.

It was a way to relax, a way to get away from the people who would demand things from her one minute and then shout when she started to try and make her own decisions. The only people who hadn’t tried to rein her in were Cornelia and Schneizel, although Nunnally was sure that Schneizel was just afraid that she would use Zero to make him comply.

She shivered at the idea. She couldn’t force Schneizel like that, not after everything that Lelouch had done. She had suffered briefly under Lelouch’s geass herself and she wouldn’t force that on other people. She was going to make her own way, no matter how annoying the politicians got. If she ever got the urge, she would just make time to work on her garden. Her reign wasn’t going to be based on destruction, only creation.

Nunnally twisted to check on the little tool compartments that Cornelia had made for her. She hadn’t been able to sleep, and tossing and turning hadn’t helped. Nunnally hoped that working with her hands would help calm her down from the day of frantic debate and edging close to nearly screaming and dismissing the entire Senate.

She looked over at the other compartment, brushing her fingers over the flower pots that she had loaded up. There were more pots laid out from when Cornelia and Guilford had helped her figure out the design of the garden plots that they had available. The garden wasn’t the grand sprawling thing that had been destroyed when the FLEIJA had destroyed the city, but Nunnally hoped that it would be one day. And she was going to make sure that it was open to the public as well. After so many years of war, the people deserved to have something that would fill them with hope.

She brushed her fingers off on her skirt before looking around the garden plots. The tough part was deciding where to work. She and Cornelia had been working on one section of it, one that they were filling with roses and any variety of pink and white flowers that would grow. Privately, she thought of it as Euphemia’s memorial garden, so it didn’t feel right working on it without Cornelia.

There was another little patch that had been largely neglected. It had been the first part of the garden she had started before she had really had a plan. She had let it sit after Cornelia and Guilford and joined her, which wasn’t fair to the garden plot. Nunnally nodded and pushed her chair towards the edge of the patio. She would give a little love to the first part of the garden she had started, if only until her mind wound down after a long day of debates.

Nunnally reached the edge of the patio, slowing down to maneuver over the bump between the patio and the stone path. She had shifted to take the change easily when there was a rustle in the garden.

She froze, looking around the garden. All of her guards were back in the palace, scattered around in front of her suite. She could scream, but she wasn’t sure how fast they would be able to come running. She didn’t even know who was in the garden. For all she knew, she could be overacting, but she couldn’t quite chase away the uneasy feeling that was settling in her stomach.

Nunnally reached back, ready to start pushing her wheelchair back as she listened. She trusted her hearing far more than her vision, especially since she expected her vision to disappear just as suddenly as it had come back to her. Besides, she would be able to tell if it was an animal or a human approaching, they moved very differently from each other. She fought the urge to close her eyes, just tipping her head and listening to the sound of its footfalls.

It moved on two legs from what she could tell, the rustling coming in a very different pattern from the other animals she had heard moving around in the gardens. Nunnally took a deep breath, about to back her wheelchair up further when she realized that there was a definite limp to its walk. One leg had to be moving more slowly than the other to cause that pattern. More than that, it sounded very familiar.

Nunnally took a quick breath, holding it as she waited for the creature to appear.

She didn’t have to wait long before a head poked out of a stand of trees. It looked around for a moment before the raptor stepped the rest of the way out, shaking herself down.

Nunnally felt the next breath that she took catch in her throat as she looked at the raptor. She hadn’t seen Lancelot since the day she had visited the retirement facility that she had set up for all the dinosaurs that had been injured in the line of duty. She hadn’t been able to convince the Britannian military to stop using them, but she could at least make sure the rest of their lives were comfortable.

Lancelot had been in the corner of her paddock, refusing to come forward even when Nunnally had called her. Her keepers had said that she had been that way since Emperor Lelouch had brought her back from the Battle of Mount Fuji, still eating but sulking. Nunnally had wondered if she missed Suzaku.

The raptor might have been forced to do what Lelouch and Suzaku wanted, which might have explained why she had turned on Suzaku. It was the only explanation that Nunnally could think of, especially since the two of them had been so close. Lancelot might have done the right thing, but it must have hurt her to turn on Suzaku like that.

She watched the raptor pace around in the gardens, smiling as she saw Lancelot crouch down to look at some of the flowers or bury her nose in a bunch and take a deep breath. She had accompanied Suzaku and Lancelot on their many trips through the gardens, both in Pendragon and in Japan. Nunnally had always just been able to hear the raptor as she raced ahead, darting through the flower beds to get a better look at something that caught her eye before dashing away again. Life at the retirement facility must have been terrible for her. Lancelot might have a sizable paddock, but she didn’t have a garden to roam through. The other raptors might have been happy with just the chance to act of their own free will, but Lancelot had always had a say on what she wanted to do, right up until Lelouch had become emperor.

Apparently, she had found a way to rectify the situation for herself.

Nunnally bit her lip as Lancelot moved over to Euphemia’s memorial garden. The raptor didn’t step into the flowers, but she circled the square, sometimes ducking her head to take in the scent of the roses.

She knew that she had to call the retirement center and report that Lancelot was missing, but she couldn’t bring herself to disturb the raptor. Surely Lancelot wasn’t hurting anyone if she was breaking out just to walk around the gardens. And it probably wouldn’t do any harm to call the raptor over. Lancelot knew her and would never hurt her. For all her war training, she was a gentle creature.

Nunnally opened her mouth to call to Lancelot when the raptor’s head jerked up. She watched as Lancelot tipped her head to the side, obviously listening for something. Nunnally strained her own senses, unable to catch what the raptor had heard before Lancelot stepped completely around the garden and onto the center of the path.

Lancelot trotted down the path to where it made a circle around a sundial. She stepped around the benches before coming to a stop, bobbing her whole body up and down in excitement.

It took Nunnally a moment to see who Lancelot was greeting. A figure in dark clothes stepped out into the circle, Nunnally not recognizing them until they turned away from her. She pressed her hands to her mouth when she recognized the profile, staring at the sharp points at the end of the mask.

She had thought that Zero had gone to bed hours ago, leaving Nunnally to spend some time with her siblings before she had attempted to retire. He must have heard Lancelot wandering the gardens and decided to look in on her.

Nunnally found herself reaching for the spade in her tool compartment, watching the masked man carefully. He had sworn to protect her, but he had also killed Lelouch. He had done nothing to harm her, but it was obvious that he had acted in defiance of Lelouch’s reign. Whether or not he had understood what Lelouch was doing, Nunnally didn’t know, but that didn’t matter in the face of the lone raptor standing in the garden.

Lancelot had been Suzaku’s, she had fought because Suzaku had told her to. She had killed because he had asked her to. She had also killed the one who had forced her to act against her will, but Zero didn’t know that. He could be looking at the last of Lelouch’s tyranny, escaped from where she was safely locked up. Zero’s job was to guard Nunnally, whose rooms were just a short distance away.

Whatever Zero was planning, Nunnally couldn’t let it happen. Lancelot was just another of Lelouch’s victims and she deserved the chance to enjoy the gardens.

She gripped the spade tightly, ready to scream when she saw Zero reach forward.

Zero’s hand hovered in the air before he brought it down on Lancelot’s hand, the motion turning into a long stroke down her neck as the raptor leaned into it.

Nunnally felt her jaw drop a little bit, watching the bizarre scene in front of her.

Lancelot had never been affectionate with anyone other than Suzaku. Even when Nunnally had asked to touch her there had always been hesitation. Sometimes the raptor would chirp and bound away before Nunnally had gotten the chance, leaving Suzaku to stutter out an apology, but Nunnally had understood. Lancelot probably had so many people touch her over the course of the day, between training, general care and checking her armor that she wanted to choose who could touch her when she was allowed to walk free. Suzaku had been the only one who got a free pass, because Suzaku had always given her a choice. It had never been an insult, only a gift when Lancelot had decided that Nunnally could pet her.

There was no hesitation in Lancelot now, not with the way that she was leaning into the caresses, her eyes partially closed. There was no hesitation in Zero either, his fingers moving among the feathers with motions that looked like habit. This was the way they had always been together, there was no question about that.

Nunnally dropped her hands back into her lap as Zero cupped Lancelot’s muzzle, leaning over. The two of them were obviously talking, but Nunnally couldn’t hear it. She doubted that Zero was actually speaking out loud, then again he didn’t need to. If Lancelot had come to him like that, then he had never needed to speak to her.

Carefully, she backed her wheelchair until it was at the base of the ramp that led back into her suite. Nunnally unbuckled the compartments from the armrests, leaning over to settle them onto the ground. She winced when the one with the flower pots rattled a bit, but neither of the two on the path looked over at her. She smiled to herself and backed her wheelchair up the ramp and towards the open door.

She might not have been ready to go to sleep, but there were other things she could occupy her still working mind with.

Tonight, she would let Lancelot and Suzaku have the garden.


	26. Eternize

C.C. leaned against the fence, staring out into the gently waving grass. The sun beat down on her back, the day not hot enough to send her scrambling inside. After a few days of rain through the week, she didn’t want to stay stuck inside. The need to move only extended to leaving the small cabin she had taken as her own. The small house wasn’t owned by anyone that she knew of, it had been checked out when Lelouch had been making his bid to get to the throne of Britannia. C.C. hadn’t memorized the list of safe houses that Lelouch had drawn up, but she remembered the roads. She didn’t think Nunnally had gotten to them, not when so many of those who supported Lelouch and wanted to fade away quietly depended on them.

She dragged her fingers along the top of the fence. As nice as the cabin was, she would eventually have to move on. It wasn’t safe for her to stay in one place for too long, especially without knowing how people were going to fall on Nunnally’s new position as empress. So far, nothing had happened. Zero Requiem had been completed a month ago, and the world was still peaceful. In the few papers she got her hands on C.C. could see the small moves that some countries and people made to test the new peace, but no one was willing to break it, not with Zero still looming over them.

No one might know who Zero was, or if he sided with anyone, but the entire world still remembered the Black Rebellion. No government wanted to risk having Zero appear in their country and overthrow them. They didn’t know that this Zero was a figurehead, at least for now. C.C. wasn’t sure what Suzaku would do if trouble really did loom. She was sure it would be interesting either way. She just wanted to be far enough away that she wasn’t caught up in the crossfire. She had had enough of being in the midst of things for a while.

She picked at a splinter on the fence, eventually prying it free. C.C. studied the splinter for a moment before flicking it away. Just where she would go was the question.

She could trek all the way across Britannia, but she would eventually run into trouble if she tried to cross into the EU. Some part of her wanted to drift back to Japan, even if it meant passing close to the capital. She and Kallen had managed to come to some kind of understanding over the year they had spent together. C.C. was sure that she could hide herself away with Kallen for a while before moving on when she got antsy again. She wouldn’t have trouble bringing her belongings, she only had a few out of habit. It was harder to pack up and run when a contract went wrong or when the people started to get suspicious when she held too many things too dear.

The problem was another thing entirely, one that she would have to work on during her time on her own. Maybe taking the road close to Pendragon would be to her advantage. She could drop off the one thing that was holding her back and continue on her own. But she wasn’t quite ready for that, and she doubted that he was either.

The sound of footsteps behind her made C.C. straighten up. She smiled to herself when they stopped, leaning her chin on her hands as she stared out onto the waving grass plains. She poked at the gap left by the splinter before pushing herself away from the fence, taking a step back.

“I said the power of the kings would condemn you to a live of solitude, but that’s not quite correct. Right, Lelouch?” C.C. turned around, not surprised that the _Indominus rex_ had lowered his head to stare at him.

For a moment, she thought she saw a familiar glint in Shinkiro’s eye, one that never belonged to the _Indominus_. It was gone a moment later, leaving a faint touch to her mind that C.C. couldn’t place. It could have come from C’s world, but it could have also come from the _Indominus_ himself.

There were always rumors about what happened to the pilots who got too close to the minds of their charges, and Lelouch had seemed to be closer to Shinkiro the longer his rebellion went on. The only time he had seemed to be away from the _Indominus_ had been the few months that Lelouch had been Julius Kingsley.

She hummed to herself, reaching up to scratch at the hinge of Shinkiro’s jaw. The _Indominus_ rumbled softly, the sound almost like a purr.

C.C. smiled, stroking her hand back and up along Shinkiro’s face. There was no way that she would be able to bring Shinkiro with her when she moved on, he was too big to hide and too recognizable. She would miss having a part of Lelouch with her, but it would be better than making the dinosaur miserable. Besides she would always be able to find traces of Lelouch in C’s world. There were others who would need the spark of Lelouch, for however long it would last.

She patted the side of his face one more time, stepping to the side so Shinkiro could walk past her.

The _Indominus_ hesitated for a moment before something caught his eye. The soft rumble turned into a growl as Shinkiro loped after something he had seen, probably something that he was going to eat.

C.C. let him go, riding along in his mind for a brief moment to make sure that he would be alright before backing away. She was in the _Indominus’_ head long enough to feel his rush of joy at running, at having something to chase after days of inactivity.

Just under that, she could feel something that might have been Lelouch, laughing as the dinosaur raced off through the grass.

END


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